On Angels Wings
by Virgo Writer
Summary: "I know angels are overrated but that's what I am, an angel and this is my story…" Kasumi, a guardian angel is sent to earth as a mere mortal to protect the chosen one and find the life and love she was never allowed live. AAMR
1. En ma fig git Ma Commencement

_'thoughts'_

_'**telepathy**'_

For those of you whose knowledge of the French vocabulary rarely exceeds a simple 'bonjour' or 'oui' much like mine, the title should mean 'In my end is my beginning' unless I spelt it wrong which in that case I'm sorry to anyone I offended, same with the Italian.

The song is by Michael Jackson as far as I know and it's called Smile.  It's one of my favourites and it seemed kind of fitting.

Disclaimer – Oh and by the way I don't own Pokemon.

On Angels Wings – En ma fig git ma commencement

"I know angels are overrated,

But that's what I am,

An angel,

And this is my story.

It's hard to decide how to embark on this tale,

But then there's only one place to begin

Ab initio 

The beginning.

I was born in a small village in southern Japan during the 15th Century.

My father never treated me as his child,

I was more of an inconvenience to him.

In my few years of life,

My father rarely showed me any love or affection,

And often bet my mother and I 

Blaming me for all that was wrong in his life.

But one night he went too far,

And that's how my new life began."

"Please Shinji, don't," she cried as she tried desperately to escape from his powerful grasp.  His hands were clamped tightly around her wrists, he held her above the ground as she tried tirelessly to escape.

"Please Shinji, don't," he mimicked harshly, his words slurred together drunkenly.

She turned her face away so she wouldn't be suffocated in the decaying scent of alcohol that hung heavily on her husband's breath.  He let go of one of her wrists, and used his freehand to grab her face and force her to look at him.  She looked anywhere but his face, refusing to look into the eyes of the man he had become.  She loved him so much, but he had changed, he wasn't the same man she married, and he scared her.  She loved him too much to look into the eyes of the shell of a man he had become.

Shinji slapped her face hard.  "Next time you'll do what I tell you Naoko."

A small girl of three sat curled up in the corner holding her knees to her chest as she quietly hummed a soft tune to herself.  She closed her eyes tightly trying to block it all out, praying that because she couldn't see him he wouldn't see her.   She had seen the same scene too many times in her short life and she knew what came next.

"Mommy!" she cried out as she heard the loud clap on the impact of her father slapping her mother in the face.

Shinji immediately let Naoko go and pushed her away.  He turned his attention to the little girl in the corner as his wife fell to the hard dusty floor by his feet.

"Please," Naoko called from the floor looking up at her husband through tear-filled eyes.  "Don't hurt our child," she pleaded.  "Do what you wish to me, but please, don't hurt her."  Naoko crawled to the child's side and cradled her daughter in her arms trying to keep her safe.  She would protect her daughter, even if it meant her own life was to be put into danger because of it.

"Do you really think I believe that?" Shinji asked angrily glaring at the two.  "Tell me how does a child get hair that red from two dark-haired parents?"

"I- I don't know Shinji," she told him nervously, "all I know is that she is our child."  Naoko held the child tightly as her husband came closer and closer, closing in the short distance between them.

(A/N: Just in case you were wondering a combination of two recessive genes causes red hair)

Shinji pushed Naoko away and grabbed the small child she had been protecting.  He picked her up and held her before him at arms-length.  Her aquamarine eyes were filled with tears, as she looked into her father's cold blue eyes.  He held her vehemently crushing her tiny, fragile bones with his hands.  He glared angrily at her as he threw her forcefully against the wall.  Her head jarred back as her body hit the cold stone surface, before she slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Naoko cried out as she heard the sickening crack of her daughters bones breaking as she fell to the floor.  She ran the short distance to her child's side searching for any signs of life, anything to say that she was still there.  The child let out one last breath as she closed her innocent, blue green eyes and relaxed her body.  And then she was gone.

"I love you Kasumi," Naoko whispered planting one last kiss on her child's cheek.  "Goodbye my darling."

"On November 2nd, 1420

My father, Shinji Thou

Killed me.

And that's the day I became an angel.

I can still remember the way he looked at me

As if he blamed me.

I still ask myself why

Trying to find out what he loathed so much.

Wasn't I pretty enough?

Was I not smart enough for his liking?

Did I cry too much?

Or maybe it was just his choice to see right through me."

"Where am I?" Kasumi asked as she searched her surroundings for a familiar face.  White smoke and bright lights surrounded her but there was no one there to answer her call.

"You're in heaven Kasumi," a voice replied.

"Does that mean . . . " she started.

"Yes," the voice replied solemnly.  "You died at the hands of your father and now you have become an angel."

"Why me?" Kasumi asked after the initial shock had worn off.

"Children are the most pure and kind-hearted beings in all the world.  When a child dies, he or she becomes an angel.  And when a child dies at the hands of another being, she or he becomes a guardian angel."

Kasumi looked down at the long, cream robes she was wearing and noticed how different her body appeared.  Suddenly she had the appearance of a sixteen year old and it confused her.

She was starting to dislike it here.  All the twisting smoke, the bright lights and the strange voice that appeared from nowhere, and especially her new body, it was all just too much for a child to take in at once.  Kasumi dropped to the floor, curled herself into a ball and began to cry.  She didn't like all these strange changes, she wanted her mother to come and hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right.  She wanted Naoko to come and sing her a lullaby like she did whenever she was afraid.  But Kasumi knew that she would never hear her mothers voice again, and that she would have to be strong for her now.

Kasumi took a deep breath and began to sing the gentle song of her mothers lullaby.  She sang her song trying to sing away all the fear she felt and singing to her mother who she knew was somewhere beneath the clouds crying the same tears as she looked at her daughters crumpled body lying against the wall.

"Smile, though your heart is aching

Smile, even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky

You'll get by

If you smile

Through the pain and sorrow

Smile, and maybe tomorrow

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just . . .

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear, may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just . . .

Smile, though your heart is aching

Smile, even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky

You'll get by

If you smile

Through the pain and sorrow

Smile, and maybe tomorrow

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile . . .

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile"

Naoko woke up suddenly as she heard the faded sounds of her lullaby being sung faraway.  Tears formed in her eyes as she walked to her window and stared up into the night sky as forgotten memories flashed through her head.  How she missed her daughter.  She would give up all she had just to see her smile one last time.  Tears rolled down Naoko's face as she remembered the child she had lost so many years ago.

She was getting old now.  Her ebony hair had turned a silvery gray, her brilliant green eyes dulled from years of pain, and her red lips cracked and dry.  Shinji was already dead and Naoko a lowly widow.  She missed them both, but most of all she missed Kasumi.  She missed her laugh, her aquamarine eyes and especially her smile.  She knew she would never forget Kasumi as long as she lived.  Every day she wished that she had been taken instead.

"Happy Birthday, my child," she whispered to the night sky.  "Happy Birthday."

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~

As you can all see, 'On Angels Wings' won out mostly because it had the most chapters finished.  The fact that so many seemed to think it sounded like a good story did come into play here but really it's all down to two things.  Firstly, I'm lazy, and secondly, I want to be stress free seeing as my exams are coming up so I figured it would be best to use this so I wouldn't have to worry about all the updates.

This story, as soon as it gets into the present day, will basically follow the Pokemon story but as my own more romantic adaptation in Misty's POV.  The main thing that will change the story a bit is the addition of what I have dubbed 'celestial magic'.

So remember no matter how things seem (with Misty being a little of a feminist and all) this is an AAMR, not like I'm capable of anything else anyway.

Please review, tell me what you think and please remember . . . its my birthday on Wednesday which according to my calculations would be TODAY!


	2. For That Second Chance

_'thoughts'_

_**'telepathy'**_

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon, but it's all good.

Anyone reading this probably won't notice, but I've made some slight changes to this and some of the other chapters. In this chapter there are two key changes - the first is that I've combined two of the chapters together (I just felt they dragged on a bit separately) and I've changed some ages. I did some slight rewriting to this and the next couple of chapters, but nothing really major. The story is the same, no additional plot, but just a few improvements style wise. It's not necessary to re-read unless you've actually forgotten or are interested, but I thought I should mention it.

The main reason for these changes is some foreward planning on my part. The initial formulation was keeping in line with the actual Pokemon ages - Ash at 10 and Misty at 12 (I like to call it almost 12 due to my own formula for deciding everyone's ages via astrological signs and using August 1 as Ash's birthday and a general landmark) but if I was going to use those ages, the action of the story would need to be spread over 5 years! in order to get Ash to the necessary level of maturity. When I re-read this it is more than apparent that I've written Ash far too mature to be 10 (and thus very OOC). By setting the start date for Ash's Pokemon journey as Ash's thirteenth birthday it will only take me two years to get to a better maturity level and now am only looking at a mildly OOC Ash.

Hope that explains some things to anyone wondering

On Angels Wings – For That second Chance

"My life as an angel was a much happier one than that of a mortal,

Angels don't feel pain or heartache; angels don't feel at all.

The only thing I missed from my mortal life was my mother,

But eventually, even she was little more than a distant memory."

"Back so soon?" Emilie asked as Kasumi walked through the pearly gates of heaven.

Kasumi waved quickly to her friend then turned her nose up at St Peter as he tried to say 'hello' and 'welcome back'. I guess being in the mortal world isn't as much fun as the regular angels like Emilie always thought.

"Kasumi," Emilie sighed the name sounding so much more exotic mixed with Emilie's thick accent, "haven't you ever been taught to respect your elders? Peter after all is a saint, and an arch-angel at that."

"If you care to recall," Kasumi began calmly her tone nonchalant, "I was killed by my father when I was three years old. Considering the era I was born in, I was too young and the wrong sex to receive any formal or informal education. Not all of us are fortunate enough to be born in the nineteenth century Emilie."

"Funny Kaz," Emilie said sarcastically. "So why are you back so soon?"

"It wasn't a lifelong job," Kasumi told her friend with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"The girl was really depressed, she recently lost her dog," Kazumi continued. "She just needed to feel like someone was watching over her still."

Kasumi and Emilie had been the best of friends ever since Emilie had arrived in heaven over one hundred years ago. Emilie had lived in a small town just outside Lyon, France until she died of Scarlet Fever when she was five years old.

"Poor thing," Emilie said remembering her own Labrador from her life in Lyon. "Actually, it's good that you are back so early. The Powers That Be wish to see you, they said the sooner the better."

"Really?" Kasumi asked slightly frantic but more nervous. "Were they angry?" she asked quickly not waiting for Emilie's reply. "I swear, I did not do anything to Peter and Michaels robes or any of the other apostles for that matter. I was framed. I promise you it was all Stephanie's fault, she conned me into it, it was all her idea right from the beginning. You can't prove anything; you don't have any evidence what so ever that can tie me to the crime. You've got to help me Em."

"Whatever Kaz," Emilie said as she rolled her eyes disbelievingly as her friends went from denying only god knows what to somehow begging her for help. "Anyway, I am pretty sure it is just about your new assignment."

"I really hope so," Kasumi sighed, "I don't think they're quite over last times incident."

Emilie resisted the urge to giggle at what happened the last time Kasumi had got on the wrong side of the Powers That Be. She'd been gate patrol for six months and let me tell you, that isn't nearly as fun a job as you might think. I mean really, how many times can one person stand having people stand there telling them how to spell 'love'?

Kasumi glared at her before she hurried away tidying her wings and robes and straightening her halo as she walked. She just hoped that maybe if she looked innocent and angelic enough they'd forget about whatever punishment they intended for her.

She stopped and looked up at the tall mountain standing before her. She took a deep breath before entering the building hoping against hope that Emilie was right.

"Kasumi," The Powers That Be said as she entered the large coliseum like hall.

She hated it when she was called there. It was so huge; it was like walking the green mile before your execution. Kasumi was use to coming here; sadly more often than not it wasn't to commemorate her good behavior.

"At your service," she joked nervously, saluting no one in particular.

"Yes, well we have a new assignment for you Kasumi. His . . ."

Kasumi stopped them hoping she had heard wrong. "I'm sorry," she said, "I think my ears are playing tricks on me. Did you just say _his_? As in the male equivalent of her?"

"Well, yes but . . ."

"You know how I feel about the male population in general. No offence, but do you really think I'm the right angel for the job?"

"Yes we do," they replied, "we think that you are the best angel for the job. This is a very special assignment Kasumi, and it requires a very special type of angel to make it work."

"How so?" Kasumi asked.

"You see Kasumi, your assignment does not yet exist."

"Then why are you telling me about it now instead of waiting until the day before his birth like we usually do?"

"Like we said Kasumi this is a special assignment. He is one of the chosen two and on his journey he is going to need more than just a guardian angel, though he needs that just as much. He will need a companion, a friend, someone to keep him in check, and someone to help him strive for his best. He needs you Kasumi."

"But how?" Kasumi asked, "I'm a guardian angel. He can't even see me. How am I supposed to be all this and more when I don't even have a solid body? And what about the whole wings and halo thing? I know this is probably just me being paranoid here, but I think that may cause some suspicion."

"You're going to be reborn Kasumi, as a mortal," they told her. "You will be born into a wonderful family and live a normal life just like any mortal until you are needed. We'll make sure we give you a sign to let you know."

"But what about my powers?" she asked. "If I'm mortal I'll be completely powerless. I'll be helpless, how will I protect him without them?"

"You won't be completely mortal. You will be stronger, heal slightly faster and be less susceptible to harm. You will still be unable to feel but occasionally some feelings may be so powerful that even the fact that you are an angel will be unable to block it out. You will have all your guardian angel powers, just in a mortal body. You'll grow, you'll learn and eventually you will die and be among us once again."

_'It will be like the life I never lived'_ Kasumi thought.

"When can I start?" she asked confidently.

"Now," they told her,

Suddenly it was completely dark and she knew that everything was different now. She slowly and cautiously opened her aquamarine eyes and looked up into two brilliant green eyes the same as her mothers. The woman had strawberry blonde hair falling lightly around her shoulders. This woman was to be her new mother.

"She's beautiful," a man said, "what shall we call her?"

Kasumi saw the love and kindness in his eyes and knew she had nothing to be afraid of. She knew he would never hurt her; never doubt that she was his child (especially seeing as her hair was only a few shades darker than his wife's). She knew she would always be safe with them.

Suddenly three older girls walked in. One had the same shade of bluish black as their father, another the same strawberry blonde as their mothers, and the other a slightly pinker shade. Kasumi knew that these girls were going to be her sisters. She knew that these people would be her family. Kasumi smiled.

At least in her mind she smiled. For now her infant body and mind could not comprehend yet alone be capable of smiling, so until it was she would be left gawking at her new family like an idiot.

"Well, seeing as the other girls are named after flowers, why don't we name her after something to do with water?" Elizabeth suggested.

Leo looked down at his child and smiled. "Why don't we call her Misty?" he said after a moments thought about the suggestion.

Kasumi probably would have smiled if she wasn't so young that she was unable to yet. They had picked the meaning of her name, almost as if they had been told to be some unknown force. This time things would be different.

Elizabeth looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I like the sound of that," she said before looking back down at her child. "Misty Waterflower."

* * *

"You wished to see me?" Emilie asked as she entered the room.

"Yes," the Powers That Be replied.

"I swear, whatever people have been telling you about Kasumi she didn't do it," Emilie protested. "Peter and Michaels robes got that way on their own, she didn't do anything to them."

"What?!" they gasped cautiously. "We won't ask. Actually we just called you for your new assignment."

"But I don't get assignments" Emilie questioned. "I died of natural causes, I'm just a regular angel."

"This case is special," they replied. "I think we can make an exception."

"Who is it?" Emilie asked eagerly.

"Kasumi," they replied.

"Why would Kasumi need a guardian angle?" Emilie asked.

"Because she's almost mortal now," the powers that be told her, "She has a mortal body and though she is less susceptible to harm she still needs to be protected and she needs your help protecting Ashton."

"That's a guys name," Emilie said questioningly, "Does Kasumi know?"

"Yes she does."

"Anything important I should know?"

"Her name is Misty Waterflower now."

"Got it."

"Now it's all in the hands of the fates," they sighed as Emilie left.

* * *

~Seven Years Later~

Misty and her sisters stood huddled together at the edge of the two graves surrounded by their relatives. Tears streamed from the seven year olds aquamarine eyes rolling down her face continuously before they dropped to the ground. She was in a large crowd of family, friends and anyone who ever knew her parents, yet she had never felt so alone in her entire life.

Misty wrapped her arms around her eldest sisters waist and cried into her stomach. Violet bent down and wrapped her arms around her littlest sister, holding her tightly. "It's alright," Violet told her sister, "we'll all look after each other now and we'll always be together no matter what. Okay?"

Misty nodded her head burying herself into her sister's chest. The older girl, still too young herself to even fully comprehend what was happening forced a painful smile onto her face, as she tried not to cry. She was only fourteen her self, but she knew she had to be strong for Misty who was too young for this sort of misery.

"This shouldn't have happened," some people whispered not too far away from the four girls. "Elizabeth and Leo were so kind."

"If they had waited till morning this never would of happened."

"If they had waited they never would have been hit."

"The poor girls, especially the little one, she had to watch them go."

"How is this going to effect them?"

"Those poor things, I do hope they're alright."

Elizabeth and Leo had been driving back from a gym leaders conference when it happened. They had taken Misty with them because she was still too young to be left by herself. They were driving along a dark country road, the same one a group of teenage boys were racing down that very night. Her father tried to swerve to get out of their way but it all happened too quickly as their car smashed into the teenage boys. Her mother leaned over Misty protecting but was sadly killed on impact, as was Misty's father. She was the only survivor of an accident that never should have happened.

_'**You told me I would never feel pain,**' _Misty called out in her mind to the PTB (Powers That Be).

_'**We told you some feelings are too powerful to be blocked by being an angel,**'_ they told her. _'**This is one of those feelings Kasumi.**'_

_'**Why didn't you save them?**' _Misty cried harder and harder tears streaming down her face. She loved her parent so much, she didn't want them to be dead; she wanted them to be holding her. _'**Why couldn't you save them instead of me?**'_

_'**We tried Kasumi, but there was nothing we could do in the end. They chose your life over their own. We know you loved them, but it was not our decision. It was fate.**'_

_'Fate,'_ she thought bitterly as tears streamed down her seven year old face. She hated fate, it's control over everything and the way people would blame it when things went wrong. She wished there was no such thing as fate, maybe then her parents would still be alive.

She didn't want to believe that this was her fate. That she was destined to be alone, that the two people she had cared for most in her life were destined to be taken away from her in the same night. She didn't want to believe in this sad lack of control, which determined every step she would take, that no matter how much she planned it wasn't her choice.

She hated that she was just a pawn in the hands of fate with no control over her life. She hated that it was all up to fate and she hated what she had lost because of this so called fate.

This only made her cry harder.

For someone who wasn't suppose to feel anything she couldn't even begin to try classifying all the emotions going through her right now.

There was the hate. That was obvious.

She hated the teenagers who had been driving the car. She hated the Powers That Be for not giving her the chance to tell her parents how much she loved them. She hated her parents for leaving her alone; perhaps she hated them the most of all because she didn't actually hate them at all.

Then there was the pain that seemed to be engulfing her very being. She felt as if she was missing a part of her, as if she had lost something very important to her, even more important than her parents, at the same time.

She felt as though she could cry for days on end. As if she would drown the world with her tears. And she wondered if maybe if she cried long enough, and hard enough, and if she truly wanted it badly enough, her tears would be able to bring them back.

But she knew the truth.

If only tears could bring them back, she would cry a thousand tears; but they couldn't and even if they could she knew her parents wouldn't want her to.

"Don't cry Misty," Lily told her sympathetically tears welling in her own eyes. As if knowing Misty's thoughts, she spoke them aloud with certainty and sincerity, "I bet mom and dad are looking down on us right now and they don't want to see us cry."

"You really think so Lily," Misty sniffed looking up hopefully into the eyes of the youngest of her three elder sisters.

"Definitely," Daisy replied for her, "I bet that their bragging to all the other angels about how wonderfully brave you have been."

"Can you be brave for them Misty?" Violet asked, "For us?"

Misty nodded sniffing and wiping away her tears with her tiny fists.

"We're all going to be staying with Aunt Sophia in Celadon for a little while until we're old enough to stay in the gym by ourselves," Violet told them. "Uncle Andrew is going to be looking after the gym for us until then."

"Will I like Celadon?" Misty asked in a small voice.

"I think so," Violet said, "we all went to Celadon City once before you were born. It's right by the sea and it has lots of fun things to do."

"Why don't we go pack now?" Lilly suggested. They all nodded and left after they each placed small bouquets of flowers in the graves. The older three placed their namesakes - Lilies, Violets and Daisies- upon the grave and the smallest, Misty, placed their mothers favorite, White Peonies.

"Don't worry Misty," Emilie whispered unheard by all as the four girls walked away from the graveyard, "I'll always protect you."

~ to be continued ~

If you're still reading you should totally review. If you stopped reading somewhere higher up the page then what the hell am I doing even talking to you . . .


	3. NOT A CHAPTER

Not a chapter. I'm just a 'review whore' who was worried that she would lose her reviews if she deleted the chapter. This chapter was combined with the previous chapter. It was too short to stand on its own if I'm completely honest.


	4. Endlessness

DISCLAIMER: the nice Virgo Writer lady doesn't own Pokemon so please don't sue her.

So in making changes to the story, this is the one that has probably gone through the biggest mini-makeover. Just a few small changes to improve the readability and fluidity. I don't like jumping from scene to scene in such short sections and in re-writing I've managed to reduce it to only three scenes where as it was looking at five or six before.

As I mentioned in the other chapter, the ages have increased. Ash is 13 and today is his birthday (which I call Aug 1 3013 because time frames help). Misty is 14 (her birthday isn't until November which makes her a Scorpio - which is a water sign duh!). When they meet up with Brock he will be 16 (and turning 17 in January cos he's a Capricorn which is an earth sign). I know my made up astrological signs (Ash is a Leo by the way - fire sign, I know I'm being obvious) are of no use to anyone, but they do help me to keep track of things and I think birthdays are a very important celebration and therefore will probably be included at some point in this story. The Senational Sisters (who are once again triplets in spite of my insisting on breaking them apart in the previous formulation) are now 21.

On Angels Wings – Endlessness

Misty blinked back tears as she stared into the mirror. Seven years later and the feeling wasn't lost. It was a sense of emptiness and loss that she couldn't even find the words to describe.

Her eyes were red and tired from tears. Today was the only day that she ever let herself cry, because today was the anniversary of their deaths and the tears were a tribute in a way.

She ran a finger through her messy hair and swept it off her shoulders with a scrunchie. It would do for her purposes, it wasn't like there was anybody dying to see her or anybody to impress.

She took one last glance at the girl staring back at her from the dressing table mirror and sighed. She didn't want to believe it was her; that this person looking back at her could be the same one looking in.

She was fourteen years old (almost fifteen) and a quite tall and gangly as she awkwardly grew into her maturing body. She was disappointed by the face looking back at her; it wasn't that she was ugly, you couldn't be born to a former model and not inherit even the tiniest speck of natural beauty.

Misty Waterflower was just plain. The only thing about her that stood out in a crowd was her shoulder length flaming red hair.

_'That and maybe my freakishly long legs,'_ she sighed to herself.

Violet, Lily and Daisy were beautiful; there was no better word to describe them. Each had long silky hair, bright almond shaped eyes and heart shaped faces with cupids bow lips. Together they were 'The Sensational Sisters'; Ceruleans leading tourist attraction.

Trainers came from far and wide to see the three most beautiful girls in Kanto, and occasionally some would venture to the gym in the hopes of leaving with a Cascade badge for their trouble.

Misty ran the gym, her sisters too afraid that they or their Pokémon might break a nail to do anything so unfeminine. But that was ok with Misty who loved Pokémon and battling and dreamed of one day becoming a great Pokémon Master. Her parents had proudly made a name for Water Pokémon Gym of Cerulean, and she would not let that name die.

There deaths would not be in vain; their sacrifice would not go to waste. Misty hoped they were proud of her and what she was doing. She hoped that wherever they were, they were with their choice and with the choices that she had made in the absence.

Misty blinked back fresh tears that threatened to fall and hardened her jaw, preparing herself for the one challenge she knew she could beat.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that," Misty screamed her voice filled with a strange mixture of anger and sorrow. "Don't you trust me?"

She glared at her sisters, waiting for them to explain themselves and their decision. For a moment none of them stirred, and Misty wondered if they were even aware of how wrong what they were considering was.

"Misty you're still so young," Daisy pleaded, trying to explain at least their decision to conceal the truth from her, "we didn't think you'd understand."

"Oh I understand," Misty growled at them. "You don't trust me, you think I'm some dumb little kid who doesn't know anything. Well I'll show you," she said as she called back her two Pokémon, Staryu and Starmie.

"Misty, you're like overreacting," Violet interjected making a move towards her little sister. "If you think about things you'll realize that this is what is best for like everyone."

"How would you know?" Misty screamed, her eyes hardening. "You didn't even ask me! But it's alright guys, you won't have to consult me anymore because I'm leaving. I'll be a Water Pokémon Master before I see any of you ever AGAIN!"

And with that she turned on her heal and ran up the stairs before her emotions could be read on her face. She would not lot them know how much she was hurting right now.

"Misty . . ." Daisy began, feeling guilty as Misty's words hung in the air.

"Maybe we should let her like calm down," Lily suggested, smiling pensively at her sister. "You know what Misty's like. She'll say things in the heat of the moment and then she'll like totally let it go once she's had time to think about it. She can't stay mad at us forever."

Daisy sighed. "I guess your right," she said, feeling slightly comforted by Lily's words. "Maybe we should have told her."

Violet returned her sigh. "We were only trying to protect her," she protested sadly. "And we were going to tell her eventually, but you know telling her today just wouldn't be right."

"I know," Lily agreed nodding slowly. "But this gym like means more to her than it does to like anyone else, we should have let her have some part in the decision."

"I can't believe that scoundrel like leaked it to the press like that," Daisy added crossly.

"We should go apologize," Violet said as she started up the stairs to Misty's room followed by her two sisters.

She opened the door to find the window wide open and draws disheveled. Violet stuck her head out the window just in time to catch a glimpse of flaming red hair as the girl rode into the woods.

"Do you think she'll be alright? Do you think she'll make it?" Lilly asked as they moved away from the window.

"Of course she will," Daisy said confidently as she picked up the small silver frame and traced her finger across the photo of the four girls together. "Misty always does."

"I just hope she comes back . . ."

* * *

Misty threw her bike down, finally too tired to keep going. The sound of the river seemed to calm her nerves, it's soft churning seeming to quell her emotions.

She didn't want to leave, because in spite of everything she loved her sisters more than anyone else in the world. They were all that she had and she loved each of them dearly, but sometimes they made her so angry.

A small smile pulled at her lips as a thought occurred to her. She knew her sisters were probably going out of their minds with her gone and part of her was glad. She hoped that they were all wracked with guilt in her absence, but suspected otherwise.

_'Let them stew,'_ she thought to herself. She would wait it out and then stride back in hours later with a smile on her face like nothing had happened. She'd bet they'd all be surprised to see her and fall on their faces.

Of course, Misty was too proud to return empty handed. She had said all that stuff about being a Water Pokémon Master, so she couldn't just go home like that. But if she came home with some incredibly rare and amazing Water Pokémon then they wouldn't be able to say anything.

_'Like a Dratini,'_ Misty thought to herself happily, ignoring the fact that dratini weren't technically Water Pokémon and preferred still waters. The fantasy didn't work if she let herself become aware of the fact that rivers were more likely to be frequented by common Water Pokémon like magikarp.

She set up her fishing rod with her favourite lure and set it into the river. Even a magikarp would do if she was perfectly honest. Magikarp would eventually evolve into a gyarados and then she command the water dragon to waterblast the smirks off her sisters faces. Oh yes, it would be sweet.

A tug on her line alerted her to her plans coming to fruition. Whatever it was, was definitely bigger than a magikarp, but smaller than a gyarados. Maybe it was a dratini, or a seaking – but then she was fishing in fresh water so that was hardly likely. It could definitely be a Poliwhirl by the way it was tugging.

With one big heave perfected from many years of practice, Misty dragged whatever it was out of the river and onto bank.

"Oh, it's just a boy," she muttered, not even trying to hide her displeasure at not even finding a magikarp on the end of her line.

"Um . . . thanks," the boy replied sheepishly, blushing nervously as his brown eyes looked gratefully into her own.

She ignored him, her eyes being drawn to the small ball of fur in his arms. She took it from him without a word, stroking it softly with one of her hands as she tried to heal any major damage with the other. "Are you ok?" she asked softly as she cradled the tiny yellow mouse like Pokémon against her chest.

"Yeah, I'm ok," the boy replied, touched by the concern in her voice. He couldn't take his eyes off her, amazed at her gentleness and valour.

"Nor you," she told him, her voice suddenly becoming hard and biting as her eyes turned on him. "I was talking about your Pikachu. What kind of trainer are you anyway, letting your Pokémon get injured this badly?" she asked, glaring at him openly.

"It wasn't my fault," he told her defensively, standing up to meet her eye to eye. He was feeling stupid for his previous estimation of her. "An entire gang of spearow attacked us," he tried to explain.

"What kind of trainer makes excuses for injuring his Pokémon?" she retorted quickly, unwilling to back down from this argument. "I bet it was your fault the Spearow even attacked you in the first place."

"So what if it was?" he asked her.

Misty sighed exasperatedly. "Did you even check to see if it was breathing?" she asked smugly as she continued to heal the Pokemon in her arms despite the distraction.

"Well . . . I . . ." the boy started to say, "Is it?" he asked slightly frantic.

"You should just be glad that he is," she replied. "You know people like you don't even deserve Pokemon. You don't even know the first thing about raising one I wouldn't be surprised if you . . ." she began to say but stopped as she noticed the small neon arrow pointing at his head.

_'**Did you guys ever hear of a new concept called subtlety?**'_ she asked the PTB as she swatted the arrow away with her mind. It quickly moved back into position growing larger and larger. _'**Look I get the point,**'_ she said as she tried to swat the arrow away again. _'**He's this chosen kid or whatever and he's my new assignment which I guess is your special way of telling me to stop fighting and to start helping him. Am I right?**'_ Suddenly the arrow disappeared on its own accord.

"What are you looking at?" the boy asked.

"Nothing," she replied quickly. He looked over his shoulder to the spot she had been looking at before. "Look you really need to get it to a Pokemon center, I mean it may be breathing but chances are not for much longer. There's one not far from here about ten miles that way." She saw that the boy was still looking over his shoulder. "Hello," she said waving a hand in front of his face, "are you even listening to me?"

"Spearow," he said quietly. He looked up at her suddenly. "Where did you say the Pokémon Center was?" he asked as he took Pikachu in his arms.

"About ten miles that way," she said pointing in a northwest direction.

The boy ran to her bike and placed Pikachu in the basket.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. "That's my bike."

"I'm borrowing this," he told her, "I'll give it back to you someday."

"And how am I supposed to know who to ask for?" she asked, her hands immediately going to her hips and a glare flowing over her features.

"The names Ash," he called over his shoulder as he rode away Pikachu lying in the basket mildly aware of its surroundings.

_'**I know angels are supposed to be kind and forgiving and never get angry or anything,**'_ Misty spoke to them softly, _'**but that was my bike.**'_

_'**You'll get it back someday,**'_ the Powers That Be replied. _'**Remember, celestial beings never lie.**'_

_'**He better,**' _Misty told them, _'**or he won't be the only one around here needing protection. So where are they heading anyway?**' _she asked them.

_'**Exactly where you told him to go, Viridian City**'_ they replied and left it at that.

~ to be continued ~

ORIGINAL AUTHORS NOTE: I hope you all liked this chapter, this where it starts to follow the Pokemon series a bit more. You know this is the only fic I've got that actually seems like it's set in the Pokemon World the whole time.

Anyway, what I really wanted to talk to y'all about was Misty/Kasumi's powers so here's a list of the basic ones I've thought of. If you think there are any that would be really cool and useful to have suggest them in a review and I seriously will think about them.

v Astral projection – this isn't like your normal astral projection, what happens is that Misty falls into this deep trance like she's asleep and she can return to her true form (angel form) with wings and halo and everything. In this form no one can see her unless she wants him or her too. Some of her powers can only be used in this form.

v Mind reading – only the greatest power ever and most definitely a necessity for every guardian angel. Sadly this power isn't all it's cracked up to be in this case. She can only read Ash's mind and we all know there isn't really much there to read (no offence to all Ash fanatics). Also this is one of those powers which she can only use in her true form, how much of a let down is that.

v Healing – what angel/alien/white lighter is complete without the power to heal people, plants and Pokemon. This can be done in any form and is kind of like Max Evans from Roswell healing so she has to find a connection with the thing she's healing first and she gets all their memories in her head so she kind of already knew that the Spearow thing was Ash's fault.

v Premonitions – only premonitions given to her when needed so that she can make sure that her innocent stays out of danger.

v Telepathy – she can put thoughts into people's minds but only in her true form. She can also talk to the Powers That Be through telepathy and anyone with telepathic powers in any form.

v Telekinesis – only simple telekinesis not major stuff like Sabrina and that screwed up doll, boy that was scary. She can do this in any form but in human she needs hand gestures to help pull the things to her.

v Talking to Pokemon – dr. dolittle eat your heart out. Another any form sort of thing but this is more of a telepathic link between her and the Pokemon so she can only do this with ones who allow her to have a link to them which kind of restricts it to her Pokemon, her sisters, Brock and Tracey's (eventually but most likely not as I don't like his character) and Ash's. The Pokemon can see her in her true form and even though she's in human form they still see the faint semitransparent outline of her wings and halo.


	5. Touched by an Angel

Disclaimer – Don't own Pokemon.  Do own Emilie and any Pokemon I decide to make up along the way.  Hmmm, maybe I'll use Trimewtant and Catamoran again.

On Angels Wings  - Touched by an Angel

Misty walked through the door of the Pokemon center in City almost an hour later.  She searched the room quickly as she stepped into the Pokemon centers reception and let a small smile come to her face as she spotted him a few seconds later.

His name was Ashton Satoshi Ketchum.  He was a young boy from Pallet Town, she guessed somewhere about her age, and almost two inches (5cm) shorter than her.  He had messy jet-black hair and chocolate brown eyes hidden beneath the brim of a red and white Pokemon league cap.

Misty's heart went out to him when she saw him sitting there dejectedly as his own was breaking.  He was leaned forward; shoulders slumped and face in his hands as he stared at a spot on the floor gloomily.  She knew that deep inside he doubted every dream he ever had, getting ready to give up on each and every one of them.

"I'm useless," he muttered to himself.  "I don't even deserve Pikachu.  I'm not worthy to be a Pokemon trainer, let alone a master."

"Yes you are," Misty told him supportively.  "We all make mistakes, but you have to remember that the key to over coming your mistakes is to learn from them."  She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

Misty watched him carefully, just waiting for him to acknowledge her presence, even if it was just a simple nod.  The longer she waited the angrier she got and no one wants to get Misty angry.

Then it suddenly struck her.

"No duh Misty," she told herself.  "You're in angel form.  He can't see you."

"Poor Pikachu," Ash sighed suddenly as he looked towards the emergency room where a red light shined above stating that there was an operation occurring.

"I didn't realize Pikachu was that bad," she said.  "I'm sure I healed him a lot more than that."

"Why did he have to go and protect me?" Ash continued slouching back into his previous position and returning to the rather interesting spot on the floor.

"Don't worry," she told him despite the fact that he couldn't hear her.  "I'll go check on Pikachu."

Misty quickly made her way into the operating room.  Nurse Joy and Chansey were looking unhopeful and Misty knew they were running out of ideas.

"The stats are looking bad," Nurse Joy sighed.  "I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Then leave it to me," Misty said as she cracked her knuckles and got to work.

Nurse Joy gasped as the statistics on the machine suddenly began to get better by the second.

"It must be a miracle," Nurse Joy gaped.

"Yup, my work here is done," Misty smiled to herself as she returned herself to her own body and awoke in the Viridian Forest where she'd left it.

Misty quickly got up off the ground and brushed the dirt and twigs off her denim cutoff shorts.  It was already starting to get dark by now so she grabbed her red knapsack off the ground and began the long walk to Viridian.

She was about halfway there and getting cold and scared because of the lack of a flashlight in the growing darkness when a gleaming mirror caught her eye as it caught the last light of the sun.  Though the thing that had really caught her attention was the shinny, deep red handlebar attached to it with the initials MW intricately engraved into one side.  It was only a few feet further from that she found the other one, her brand new bell no longer attached.

By following a trail of debris as she picked her way through the piles of scrap metal and glass only to find that this was all that remained of her bike, if you could even call it that.

Fueled by her growing temper she took the second half of the journey twice as fast and was once again walking through the doors of the Pokemon center (not literally this time) in no time.

Misty spotted him straight away, especially seeing as she knew where to look.  She stalked right up to without even bothering to check if he was paying attention before yelling her head off at him.  "You moron!  How could you do this to my bike?" she asked holding up half a handle bar and a broken mirror.  "It looks like you ran over it with a steamroller," she added distastefully.

_'**Kasumi,**'_ a voice in her head warned.

He looked up at her, his face painted with sorrow.  His eyes were so heavy with worry and fear that she was waiting for the tears to break free any moment.  He looked so different from the carefree boy she had met at the river.  It seemed as if in the few hours since they met he had changed into a different person as the light that used to shine in his eyes disappeared. It was as though in those few hours he had grown up.

"I'm sorry," he said trying (unsuccessfully!) to force a tiny smile onto his face for her benefit.  "I can't seem to do anything right."

"What's wrong?" she asked as all her anger melted away and she was flooded with a mixture of sorrow and guilt.  She took the chair beside him and placed a hand on his arm comfortingly.  "Look I shouldn't have gotten so angry," she said gently, "I mean it's just a bike."

"No," he said turning to face her.  "I deserved that."  He quickly looked away from her and returned to staring at the floor his cheeks slight shade of red.  He stared at the ground so intensely, as if he was waiting for something to just materialize out of nowhere on that very spot any second now.

Misty wished she could tell him what she was, and then maybe she could reassure him, let him know that Pikachu was all right.  That he was safe now and that he'd be able to see him soon.  But the rules were so strict, they didn't think that humans would understand it, didn't know how they would react.  So this time she had to deal with things the mortal way.

"Tell me what's wrong," she told him as she placed her hand on top of his.

"You were right," he said shrugging his shoulders.  He didn't lookup but his focus moved to his hand.

Misty pulled her hand away as she noticed this and blushed from embarrassment.

"You know I thought hearing that would make me feel a lot happier than this," she told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I have three older sisters," Misty explained.  "One of them is always right."

Ash let out a small chuckle and turned to look at Misty.

Misty smiled and asked, "Now, are you going to keep sidetracking this conversation or are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Ash couldn't help but smile just for a second as she somehow pushed all his confusion and doubt away just by being there.  But then it all came rushing back as he was reminded why he had met her in the first place and why he was sitting in the Pokemon Centers reception at night instead of trying to sleep.

Ash sighed sullenly.  "Pikachu is in there," he told her pointing towards the emergency room, "and its all my fault.  I threw the rock and that's why he got hurt in the first place.  Then when they were chasing us after you helped us from the river Pikachu used up all the energy he had left trying to protect me."

Misty decided it was best not to mention that she already knew all that and smiled at him sympathetically.

"It's not your fault," she told him.  "Maybe the first one was, but the second was his choice, and Pikachu choose to protect and . . . that's probably not helping," she sighed to herself.  "Look," she told, "I can't explain how or why, but somehow I know that Pikachu is going to be okay.  Trust me."

"Thanks," he told her.

Suddenly they heard a loud ding and the red light above the emergency room went off.  Ash stood up as Nurse Joy came in smiling.

"Ash Ketchum," she said.  "You can go see your Pokemon now."

Ash smiled, a real, full smile and began to run to where he could see Pikachu then stopped abruptly and turned back to Misty.

"Uh," he began his cheeks growing red and hot.  "You see I was . . . uh . . . just wondering . . . I just wanted to ask you . . . what's your name?"

Misty smiled and blushed slightly.  "It's Misty," she told him nervously.

"Thanks Misty," he said.

"Y- your welcome," she stuttered nervously blushing as she looked down at the floor.

Ash smiled back at her then turned and walked to the room.  He opened the door gently hoping not to wake any of the recovering Pokemon.

He walked up to Pikachu's small cot and watched him sleep.

"I'm so sorry," Ash whispered.

"Cha," the small yellow Pokemon said softly as it rolled onto its side.

"Hey little buddy," Ash smiled.  "I'm glad you're okay."  He took Pikachu into his arms and stroked his fur softly.  "I'll understand if you want to find another trainer," Ash told him.  "One who doesn't cause so much trouble."

Pikachu shook his head.

"Good," Ash said, "because I know we can make a good team."  He stroked the Pokemon softly and subconsciously looked in the direction of the reception where he could almost see the girl with red hair relaxing in her seat.

"There's something about her," Ash murmured more to himself than Pikachu.  "She seems different from other girls, just so different from anyone I've ever met.  Its like there's these two parts of the same person and they go on and off just like that.  It's strange but I just get the feeling that I've known her in some other place or time," Ash mused.  "Have you ever felt like that?" he asked Pikachu.

The small mouse Pokemon shook its head.

"I think I might ask her to come with us," Ash continued.  "I mean if it's ok with you."

Pikachu nodded and smiled.  He could already feel so close to Ash and because of that he felt close to her.  She had already done so much for him, for both of them and part of him knew that somewhere Ash knew that too.

Pikachu looked at the angel and smiled to himself.  He could feel himself drifting to sleep and knew it was down to the gentle touch of the angel standing at Ash's side.  It was a touch so light that you could barely feel it unless you knew she was there and so gentle that it warmed you right through and felt like a light breeze caressing your skin.

Ash looked down on Pikachu unaware of her head resting on his shoulder and her hand placed gently on his arm as she studied Pikachu adoringly and silently promised them her protection. 

If anyone else had been able to see the picture perhaps they would have imagined them to be like a small family, like a couple watching over a sick child, but to anyone else all that was in the room was a boy and his Pokemon.  The angel went unnoticed.

It was hard to believe that she could be unseen with the incredible beauty held within her.  She had long red hair and beautiful blue green eyes so clear that you could see forever in them.  She had pale peach skin, red lips and high cheekbones.  Her eyes almost seemed to smile at you lit up her entire face with a happiness that wasn't transferred to her lips.

"Pika . . ." he started but stopped as he saw the angel put a finger to her lips.  Pikachu could understand it all, the words she said and the ones she didn't say.  His eyes felt heavier and heavier as he struggled just to stay awake for a few minutes more.

"I know you'll like her Pikachu," Ash told him.  "I just hope she agrees."

"Pika," he said dreamily as he drifted back to sleep.

"It's alright," Ash said.  "You need your rest now."  With that he gently placed the Pokemon back in his cot and said a quiet good night before making his way back to the reception.

There he found Misty fast asleep on the chair.  He looked at her and sighed contently without even realizing he was doing it until she suddenly began to stir.

She sat up and stretched then looked across at Ash confused by the strange look on Ash's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.  "Is Pikachu okay?"

Ash nodded.  "I wanted to ask you something," he told her.

"Shoot."

"I was wondering if you would . . . er . . . no . . . will you . . . what I mean is," Ash began to stutter as he tried to get the words out.

_'Maybe I can make this easier for him.'_ Misty thought to herself.

"You know there's still a matter of my mangled bike," she told him.  "When you told me you'd give it back to me someday I presumed all in the one piece."

"Well I . . ." Ash began trying to think of a way to explain it all.

"Well I've decided I'm not leaving you until you give it back to me," she said.  "So it seems like were in this together.  You're stuck with me Ash."

"Really?" Ash asked excitedly then calmed down when he realized he had done so.  "I mean really?" he asked again using a more nonchalant tone of voice.

"I guess," she replied in the same nonchalant tone.  "I mean what else am I supposed to do."

"What about your sisters?" Ash asked, "or your parents?"

"My parents are gone," she said quietly.

"I'm sor . . ." Ash began before Misty cut in.

"Anyway," she said trying to be extra perky no matter how she was feeling on the inside.  _'Why did he have to mention my parents,'_ she thought to herself.  "Have you ever tried living in a house with three other teenage girls and only the one bathroom?  It's not a pretty thought," she joked trying to move away from the topic of her parents.  "So where are we heading to anyway?"

"To the next town I guess," Ash replied.

"Then we should both get some sleep before sunrise," Misty suggested, "or we'll both be falling asleep in the middle of the road."

"Goodnight Misty," he told her softly.

"'Night Ash."

to be continued

Look, I wrote you all a nice long chapter to make up for that really short chapter two.  And parts of it are even kind of good.

You know, I think this is what I get for not putting this story up for so long.  About half of the chapters are written in one style and as my style has matured since then the other half aren't nearly as contrived.

Well, now that I've used my word of the day I guess I should probably end on my usual note.  Just a little further down this page there is a lovely little button, kind of a lilac-y purple colour and a scroll-y box thinge.  Just press it and do what comes naturally, just go with your instincts people and hope for the best.


	6. Awfully Sensational

Disclaimer – I do not own Pokemon. I do however own the lovely French angel Emilie.

On Angels Wings – Awfully Sensational

Misty smiled as she walked down the road. She took a quick glimpse at her companions beside her. There were three of them now. Ash and Pikachu - of course - and the newest addition to the group, Brock Slate the Pewter gym leader.

Ash proudly flashed his newest accomplishment, the Pewter boulder badge he had recently won from Brock. Misty had helped a little of course; heck she'd even turned on the water sprinkles with a little help from the PTB. Not that she was gong to be telling any body any time soon.

After winning - undeserved she might (constantly) add - the boulder badge Ash was practically bouncing off the walls apart from the fact that there weren't any walls on the road. It was his first Pokemon League badge and they all hoped not his last. Not that Misty was going to be mentioning that either.

Brock had decided to join them hoping to get in some breeding skills and help Ash with his training. Misty wasn't complaining, he was the best cook around and that was all she needed to know.

They had had so many adventures already just between the Viridian Forest where she and Ash had met and the dusty road the four of them walked along.

Soon after they left the Pokemon centre in Viridian Ash had caught a Caterpie. Misty had insisted that he did it just to spite her because of her intense fear of bugs, especially Caterpies and Weedles. Caterpie tried to get Misty to like it, but when she refused Ash decided to try and go off without her. Too bad she couldn't let things stay that way.

_'Too bad,'_ Misty thought. The PTB had rules and one of the top one was not letting the kid that you're supposed to be guarding out of your sight which isn't an easy task when you're half mortal and need at least four hours sleep. Plus he still owed her a bike so she wasn't letting him go anywhere.

Misty was pleased when Caterpie evolved into Metapod during a battle with the infamous team rocket and one with a Pidgeot that Ash had somehow managed to catch in spite of everything. She smiled at the memory of the three bumbling fools as they tried to catch Pikachu with their silly gadgets and robots. She knew they didn't have a chance, especially with her on his side. Did you ever wonder why Team Rocket got blasted so far from just one thunder shock?

She was even happier when Metapod evolved into a Butterfree during Ash's battle against the samurai. Butterfree was the only good sort of bug Pokemon if any; at least they were kind of pretty and half flying.

_'That was one strange kid with no dress sense,'_ Misty reminisced of the samurai with a slight smile on her face.

She'd also got in trouble a few times with the PTB for fighting with Ash. Like when she tried to "lecture" Ash after he put Caterpie up against Pidgeotto. The words 'moron' and 'idiotic' came up a lot and it turned out that they wanted her to be nice to him. Good thing team rocket had shown up when they did or she probably would have said a lot worse.

"Where are we off to next, Brocko?" Ash asked.

Misty giggled to herself at the way Ash had taken it upon himself to give them all nicknames. There was Brocko, and Pik and . . .

"Myst?" Ash asked. "What's so funny?"

"Don't call me that," she scorned at him. It wasn't that she didn't like him calling her Myst; actually she thought it was kind of cute, but then she had to keep up an image. An image that proclaimed his doom if he so much as looked at her the wrong way, and let's face it, images have to be maintained. She certainly couldn't let him thing that she was nice, now where's the fun in that?

"Nothing that concerns you anyway," she continued turning her nose up and taking a long stride away from him and closer to Brock.

Brock barely noticed her, his head buried in a map he struggled to understand. It probably didn't help that it was practically upside-down but at least they weren't lost, and that's all that mattered.

Misty hated being lost, she had a fetish about being late and being lost always led to lateness. She didn't mention it knowing that the boys wouldn't understand, especially Ash, from what she understood he was late collecting his Pokemon, which is how he ended up with Pikachu.

"So where'd you say we were heading?" Misty asked Brock peering over his shoulder.

"He didn't say," Ash replied.

"Was I talking to you?" she asked shooting Ash a glare. She had to do everything in her power not to smile as he cowered back slightly. It was cute even if it was Ash.

_'The Waterflower glare wins again,'_ she joked to herself almost cringing as she thought about the name that linked her to the "Sensational Sisters" of Cerulean City.

Brock took a look at the map hoping he was right. "My guess is as good as yours, but I'd say Cerulean."

"Cerulean City?" Misty asked hoping he meant anything else. She stopped suddenly and held her breath waiting for his answer.

"The one and only," Brock said not noticing her reluctance to let it be.

_'Why do boys have to be so completely and utterly clueless?'_ Misty asked herself as she tried to convince herself that she could do this and that she could make it through Cerulean without having to see her sisters or anyone she knew.

"Something wrong Myst?" Ash asked actually noticing her sudden resistance to go on and the slight green colour coming to her unusually pale cheeks.

'Great, the one guy that isn't totally clueless and he just happens to be the kid I have to protect until the day one of us dies.'

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just a little tired," she lied. "I think that I'm just going to go to the Pokemon centre and just sleep for like ever."

"Sleep after I win the cascade badge," Ash told her trying to sound like he wasn't worried sick about her right now.

Misty felt physically ill. She was scared and all that anxiety was getting to her. She had butterflies in her stomach, she could barely move and worst of all she had said 'like'. She'd sounded just as air headed as her sisters and that was not a good thing for her.

"Actually you know what," Misty said suddenly almost as an after thought. "Why don't you guys go ahead? I'll catch up later."

"Pikachu pika," Ash's Pokemon asked.

"I'll be fine," she said bending down and patting him lightly. Pikachu smiled and rubbed against her hand like a cat.

Ash sighed with relief as some of the colour came back to her cheeks. "We'll meet you at the gym after the battle," Ash suggested and shrugged his shoulder as he turned away acting like he didn't care.

Pikachu hung back a few seconds looking at Misty. He liked her and he knew Ash did too, and he knew Ash didn't really want to go off without her. Pikachu didn't want to either.

_'**Don't make him battle without you,**'_ Pikachu begged her silently using his eyes to convey most of the message.

"Go with Ash," she told him. "I'll be fine, I promise." She drew a cross over her heart. "Ash needs you more than I do," she told Pikachu.

Pikachu rubbed itself against Misty's leg one last time before catching up to Ash.

"Good luck," she called after them.

Ash looked back and smiled at her before continuing to the gym.

She'd tried to convince him not to go to Cerulean. She'd even tried to divert them by using a bit of her celestial magic on the map they were following. Too bad Brock didn't know how to read a map and they ended up following the road to Cerulean anyway. Misty had tried to put them off telling Ash that the Cerulean gym leader was really mean and that they were the hardest leader to beat. She wasn't exactly lying seeing as many trainers had told her that, she was just being a little egotistical and embellishing the truth, which was totally different from lying. After all, celestial being don't lie.

She'd even tried reverse psychology but it seemed Ash didn't fall for that. It was annoying; the boy would fall over his feet if his laces weren't tied up the right way but not for a few mind games just so she wouldn't have to see her sisters.

Chances were that her sisters had shut it down anyway. That's what they had planned to do before she left and she couldn't see any of them changing their minds for her benefit. Stubbornness was a trait that seemed to be shared by all four girls and most of the time the eldest got her way followed by the others accordingly by age leaving Misty till last.

"Damn Water Shows," Misty muttered to herself. That was the reason why her sisters wanted to close down the gym that had been in their family since the League had been established. She loved the gym, it was a memory of her parents and she didn't want to let them go.

A small tear rolled down her face. She always cried when she thought about her parents. She loved them and they were gone. That's why she didn't want to love anyone ever again, because when she loved people they were taken away from her and vice versa. So she promised herself she wouldn't get close to anyone.

Misty sighed and started walking.

She could almost see the PTB glaring down at her angrily from the sky, and they probably would be if they were allowed to get angry. It was times like these she was thankful for emotion or at least their lack of it.

She knew exactly why they'd be angry, if they could.

"Rule number one," she muttered. "An angel is not allowed to leave her assignments side." Good thing she was only half angel, the human part made up for all her mistakes. Humans could make mistakes; humans could break rules because humans had freewill, emotions and hearts. Angels didn't, so angels had to follow the rules and mistakes were out of the question because mistakes usually cost lives for them.

Misty picked up her feet trying to look enthusiastic for her spectators above.

She knew Cerulean like the back of her hand, which made it easy to choose the fastest route to the gym, her gym. She was there before Ash would even have the chance to ask for directions. She crept into the room where the battles were usually held making sure her sisters didn't see her. She found a hiding place where she wouldn't be seen and got comfortable expecting a long wait.

The room was large. It had rows of bleachers on each side from where you could watch the matches, that's where Misty had hidden knowing from experience that it was the best hiding place. In the middle was an Olympic sized swimming pool with large floating platforms for the trainers to battle from and another in the middle for the Pokemon.

Misty loved this room. She presumed that it wasn't used for matches anymore. Her sisters wouldn't dare have a Pokemon battle; they might break a nail or something. God forbid. Their Pokemon weren't even suited to battling thanks to the years they had spent doing the prissy little water shows.

About half an hour later she heard one of her sisters voices.

"Come with me, ok?" she said. "I'll take you through to like the match room but I can't promise anything until I like talk to my sisters."

It was Violet, and Ash followed right behind her with Pikachu at his heals. Pikachu looked up to the bleachers as he sensed Misty's presence.

_'**Don't say a word,**'_ she willed to the yellow mouse Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in response.

"Like Daisy, Lilly," Violet called. "Can you come in here?"

"Sure," two voices replied. A few seconds later Misty's two other sisters entered the room.

"We like have a challenger," Violet told them.

"Damn, that's like terrible," Lilly whined.

"I'm sorry," Daisy told him as she saw the way his face went down. "Our Pokemon were like wiped out by some kid a couple of days ago. You know I think he was from Pallet too."

"We only have like a Goldeen that's fit for battle and you see we can't exactly use her cause she's like not exactly ours," Violet told him apologetically.

"Oh," Ash said sadly.

"We could give you the Cascade badge anyway," Daisy suggested her eyes sparkling thanks to her brilliant idea.

Ash was taken aback. Misty had told them that these were the toughest gym leaders around, that they were meaner than mean, but they were giving away a gym badge so they wouldn't have to battle.

"I'm not sure," Ash said. "Wouldn't that be cheating?"

"Of course not," Lilly told him. "You see the gym leaders can give these out like to whoever they want. If we see someone who probably could have won but didn't we give them a badge and voila everyone's like happy."

Ash looked at her suspiciously.

_'Boy is he going to be surprised when he finds out these are my sisters,'_ Misty chuckled to herself watching from above.

"Are you sure its alright," Ash said looking at the badge Daisy was holding out to him sceptically.

"Totally," one of Misty's sisters voiced. She wasn't quite sure which one but she had the feeling it was all three.

_'That's it,'_ Misty thought to herself. _'They are not giving one of my gym badges out for no particular reason.'_

Ash reached towards the badge battling his conscience, which kept telling him that this wasn't the right thing to do and that he should earn it. But then there was this little voice telling him that Gary was way ahead and that this would be the best way to catch up.

"Don't you dare take that badge Ash Ketchum," Misty said as she ran down the bleachers flipped over the bar and landed right in front of them not waiting for her deserved applause after such a display.

"What are you doing here Myst?" Ash asked.

"I'm the fourth Sensational Sister," Misty replied cringing at the name.

"Correction," Lilly said. "There are only three sensational sisters." She held up her three fingers for emphasis.

Misty took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten trying to control her temper.

"So little sis," Daisy said. "It's a surprise to see you back so soon."

"I'm not surprised," Violet said. "That little girl who said she wouldn't be back here until she was a great Water Pokemon Trainer, wasn't that you?"

"Maybe I did say something along those lines before I left," Misty shrugged trying to seem nonchalant about the whole situation.

"No wonder Misty was so dead-set about not coming here," Ash muttered to Pikachu. He was beginning to realize why Misty hadn't been too upset about being without her sisters and why being right seemed so important to her.

"Pika," the Pokemon agreed rather than telling his trainer that he knew all along.

"Misty you left _pretending_ you wanted to be a Pokemon trainer because you couldn't compare to us," Lilly said haughtily. "It's obvious how jealous you are simply because we are so much more talented and like beautiful than you are."

"THAT WAS NOT THE REASON I LEFT AND YOU KNOW IT," Misty screamed. Ash backed away almost on instinct.

"Whatever Misty," Violet did.

"It wasn't my idea to come back here," Misty continued her glare alternating between Ash and her sisters. "I'm only here because _he_ made me." She pointed at Ash then bent down to stroke Pikachu like she always did.

"Oh my gosh like how cute," Lilly exclaimed to her sisters.

"What?" Misty and Ash asked.

"He's your boyfriend," she cried.

"What?" Misty screamed louder this time. Ash froze as his face took on a look of complete shock as his face flushed about fifty different shades of scarlet in the span of thirty seconds.

"He is kind of cute for a kid," Violet said inspecting Ash from different angles. "He's like totally not someone I'd choose as a boyfriend but then you're no prize your self."

"He is not my boyfriend," Misty said angrily now focusing her glare solely on her sisters. "I'm only hanging out with him because he broke my bike."

Ash looked at Misty and had to mentally stop himself from backing away this time. She looked really angry and that was definitely the worst glare he'd ever seen Misty sport, it gave him chills just looking at her. He was glad for once that it wasn't focused at him.

"Sure Misty," Daisy replied smiling at how annoyed her sister was getting and rolling her eyes for impact. "That's why he already has a nickname for you."

Misty blushed and looked down. "He is not my boyfriend," she muttered.

"I'm sorry but am I missing something?" Ash asked looking from one sister to the other hoping that maybe he would be able to divert them from this idea of him and Misty being boyfriend and girlfriend. "I thought you said there were only three sensational sisters."

"There are," Lilly said. "Three Sensational Sisters and a RUNT."

Misty glared at them threateningly. She grabbed Ash by the wrist and pulled him towards the door. Pikachu chased after them.

"They like do make a cute couple even if she does say he's not her boyfriend," Daisy said.

"What about my badge?" Ash asked her as she dragged him away.

Misty stopped suddenly remembering the sole purpose of the visit back to her hometown. She didn't want to spend another second here with her sisters but she knew Ash would be disappointed if they left without a badge.

Misty began dragging him back in the direction they came from stopping right in front of her sisters.

"If they won't battle you then I will," she told Ash pronouncing 'they' distastefully. She shot one last glare at her loving sisters before showing Ash where to go and heading to her own platform. "And I'll prove to you that I'm just as good a trainer as you are," she added to her sisters.

"I have to warn you though," she told him as she organized her poke balls on her belt. "I'm practically undefeated."

"Good," Ash said smiling, "because I'm not going easy on you just because we're friends."

Misty smiled.

Ash usually got really serious before a battle; he usually turned into this completely different person that's only focus was winning and his Pokemon. But this time was different; he hadn't changed into battle mode. It seemed just like a game to both of them and the badge was probably the furthest thing on either of their minds.

"Oh how sw . . ." Daisy started to exclaim but was cut off by a glare from Misty. They all shared the glare, but it seemed Misty was the best at it making grown men quiver in their boots. "I'll be quiet," Daisy said quietly.

"Ok this is like a two on two battle, k?" Violet announced. "Begin."

"Go Pikachu. This one will be a piece of cake," Ash said looking out to the pool proudly.

He knew Misty didn't have a chance with Pikachu on his side. It only took him a few seconds to realize that Pikachu wasn't out there. He fell down anime style as he saw Pikachu still by his side.

"Pikachu what are you doing?" Ash asked in a confused tone.

Pikachu shook his head.

"You don't want to fight Misty," Ash sighed. Pikachu nodded. Misty stifled a giggle. Ash reached for one of his poke balls and let it go. "Go Butterfree."

"Go Staryu," Misty calls.

Ash pulls out his pokedex as he always did when Pokemon were about.

"Staryu. The core of this water Pokemon shines in a rainbow of seven colours. A core that is valued by some as a type of jewellery."

"Leave it to Misty to show off her jewellery," Ash muttered.

And the battle began.

Butterfree started with a whirlwind attack. Staryu reciprocated with a water gun, which Butterfree dodge easily. Butterfree tried a stun spore attack, which Staryu dodged by diving under the water.

"You know she is pretty good," Lilly whispered to her other sisters watching how skilfully the two battled together.

Both trainers called for tackle attacks and the rest of the battle continued much the same way until Butterfree was hit by Staryu's water gun and knocked straight into the water ending the round.

Misty smiled smugly as Ash went for his next Pokemon.

"Kachu," Pikachu said happily.

"You're supposed to be on my side," Ash sighed. "Go Pidgeotto," he called sending out his next Pokemon.

Misty returned Staryu knowing that Pidgeotto was at a higher level and sent out her Starmie, one of her favourite Pokemon.

This battle started much the same way with a gust attack from Pidgeotto. Starmie stood its ground and took aim with a swift attack.

Starmie was out classed by the bigger Pokemon and was close to faint as its gem began to blink.

Then suddenly there was a big crash and a giant vacuum crashed through the wall.

"Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

_'Not again,'_ Misty thought to herself. She'd only heard it twice and already she was sick of the thing. _'You'd think at their age they'd be a little more creative, I mean they've got a talking cat. But then again you'd think at their age they'd have better things to do than chasing around three kids and a Pikachu.'_

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now and prepare to fight."

"Meowth that's right."

"You know most people tend to use the door," Misty glared at them. It was no surprise she was angry, this was her home they were ploughing through the walls of even if she wasn't currently living there.

"Excuse me," Lilly said suddenly. "I don't mean to ruin your act and all, I mean I like totally understand if you're upset or anything being fellow performers and all, but were kind of like busy now. Do you mind coming back later?"

Misty sighed exasperatedly and Ash stifled a laugh as all three members of team rocket fell down.

"What?" Lilly asked looking to her sisters who shrugged.

Team Rocket quickly composed them selves and stood in fighting stances.

"We're taking you're Pikachu kid," Jesse said.

"And all the Pokemon in the place," Meowth added.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked threateningly.

_'**Not yet,**'_ she warned him. She knew that if Pikachu shocked them now the whole place would be affected and all the Pokemon injured. She needed to get them out somehow.

"That's what you think," Misty said pulling out her Staryu's poke ball. "Staryu, hydro pump."

Ash stared with surprise. He didn't realize that Misty's Pokemon knew such a powerful attack.

Misty used her powers to aid Staryu in pushing the tank out of the gym or at least far enough away so that Pikachu could use an electric attack.

"Your Pokemon have the advantage, but if we steal the water . . ." Jesse smiled.

"Then the Pokemon are ours for the taking," Meowth finished.

She got them almost out the gym when suddenly they pushed back and placed a hose in the pool and began to suck up all the water. Worn out, Misty and her Pokemon had stopped their attacks.

"Now suck 'em up," Meowth commanded turning on the vacuum

Ash smiled as the perfect plan came to him.

As the vacuum came closer to him Ash called out for an electric attack. Misty smiled and helped Pikachu giving Team Rocket an unnoticed extra push in the right direction, up.

"Were all washed up," they cried leaving with yet another bad pun.

"You like saved the gym," Daisy, Lilly and Violet told Ash happily.

"Here," Daisy said handing him the cascade badge. "You earned it. You too," she said as she bent down to stroke Pikachu.

Pikachu smiled slightly disappointed that her touch wasn't as soft as Misty's, though nobodies was.

Ash smiled and held it out proudly in his victory pose.

"What do you mean he earned it?!" Misty yelled stalking over to the other side of the pool. "I'm the one who did all the work. He could have blown the place up with that thunderbolt."

"Ash would have beat you anyway if he'd used Pikachu," Violet shrugged.

"But he didn't," Misty practically screamed. "I was winning."

"Do you want one too, Misty?" Daisy asked.

"No," Misty said. "It's not like I could do anything with it anyway. Gym leaders aren't allowed to collect their own badges."

Her sisters shrugged their shoulders. They suddenly took Misty in a huge hug. Ash had to hold his breath to suppress his laughter.

"We missed you like _so_ much Misty," Violet smiled.

Misty smiled. "I missed you guys too," Misty whispered quietly so that Ash wouldn't hear her. She didn't want him to think she was soft. "I'm glad you kept the gym."

"We couldn't let it go after realizing how much it meant to you," Daisy said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Thanks," she whispered. She pushed away from her sisters and they all let out a laugh for no particular reason.

Ash sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes it seems like girls are from a whole other planet," Ash sighed.

"Pika."

"Here," Daisy said handing Misty a poke ball.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Someone you forgot last time," Daisy smiled.

Misty opened it to reveal a Goldeen. "Oh my gosh," Misty gasped. "It's gorgeous."

"We knew you'd like it," Violet said as each of them gave her another hug.

"Hey, uh, Myst . . . ty," he added remembering her sisters comment about the nickname.

"What?" she asked not bothering to turn around.

"I don't mean to break up anything," he started. "I . . . I mean we . . . I mean . . . if you still want to come with me . . . need to leave. It's getting late and . . . you know, Brock might worry."

Daisy lifted an eyebrow suggestively.

Misty smiled. "He's just the other guy we travel with," she said.

Misty was struggling to understand why she was smiling. She felt like she was being forced to choose between her sisters and Ash. She knew that this was a hard decision, but it had already been decided for her. No matter how much she loved her sisters, she had to go with Ash and that was that.

"I guess I have to go," she said with a slight sigh. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a smile find its way onto Ash's face.

"Oh," her sisters said a slight note of sadness in their voices. They tried to put on happy voices and smiles so as not to discourage her, but Misty knew better, because she was trying too.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you guys will be able to run this place fine without me," Misty told them. "Anyway," she added. "I told you I wasn't coming back before I earned my title and I think I'm a long way from my goal. Plus, he still owes me for a bike," Misty pointed over her shoulder nonchalantly. "If I don't go with him now chances are I'll never see him or my bike again."

"Well don't be too long," Violet said with a tear in the corner of her eye.

It almost made Misty feel like crying. Sure her sisters had been mean to her but they were the only family she had and leaving them behind was a lot harder this time around.

"I promise I'll visit as often as possible," she said. "But I can't promise much, neither of them know how to read a map."

_'Speaking of which,'_ she thought undoing the magic on the map knowing that it probably wouldn't do them much good anyway.

"Bye guys," she said giving them a quick hug before returning her Pokemon.

She and Ash headed out the door. She took another glance back at her sisters who were all waving at them and crying. A tear rolled down her cheek as she waved goodbye to her sisters for who knows how long.

"What?" she asked noticing the look Ash was giving her. She certainly didn't like it and if he didn't stop it she was going to have to do some serious damage to him.

"So the tin girl does have a heart," Ash said as he looked at her with a slight smirk present in his voice and smile.

She quickly switched back to terminator mode. "Tell anyone about this and I'll kill you," she said through her teeth still smiling and waving at her sisters.

Ash gulped.

Pikachu shook his head and jumped into Misty's arms preparing to fall into a gentle slumber as Misty's gentle touch caressed his fur.

As they turned to walk away none of them noticed the faint silhouette of an angel that always followed close behind.

to be continued

A nice long one don't you think? Sorry about the battle scene, I've never been too good at them; give me a kiss any day and I'll write you two pages, give me a battle and you're lucky if you get two worthwhile lines.

Please Review, I'd really like some idea's on anything that anybody thinks I should include. I'm trying to do a mixture of original chapters and actual episodes but it's not easy to come up with new idea's especially when this is a little out of my genre.


	7. The Meaning of a Smile

Disclaimer – Ok, lets just say hypothetically that I do own Pokemon and remember this is a completely hypothetical situation, don't you think May/Kimi would have dropped dead by now and that Ash and Misty would be twenty something years old with 2.5 children? Now considering the fact that May lives, Misty's left and Ash _is _2.5 children on his own do you really think I own Pokemon?

On Angels Wings – The Meaning of a Smile

Misty sat silently in a secluded part of the forest.

The sun flickered onto her face through the gaps in the trees above finishing off the perfection of the moment.

It was peaceful, silent, still. She felt as though the world was moving about around her but she just sat there locked still in time while the world carried on without her in it.

She liked that feeling. She liked to be withdrawn from it all, just to sit back and watch without having to play her part. To be a spectator watching from behind the glass knowing that it wasn't her problem.

She felt . . . human.

But she knew the truth though. She knew she wasn't human, she was paranormal, supernatural, and just plain old out of the ordinary. She had a wingspan wider than that of any eagle and a heavenly light that put even the brightest stars to shame. She was an angel, a cherubium, the second highest choir of angels, to be more precise.

She knew it wasn't her problem, but still if she listened carefully she couldn't help but hear their anguished cries for someone like her floating across the breeze. She couldn't escape it, sometimes is would be an almost inaudible whisper others it would echo through her head screaming, praying, wishing for an angel.

At times she just wished they would go away. She wished she hadn't been blessed, been chosen to be one of his almighty angels, a protector of the innocent, the fallen and the protected. She wished she could just be one or the other, human or angel, not both.

But she wasn't, she was like some kind of angelic half-breed. It would be so much easier just to be one and not the other. As an angel she could be withdrawn from the worlds pain more easily and focus only on her case. She wouldn't get attached and she could distance herself from their cries.

As a human she could ignore the cries altogether, not hear them begging for mercy, wishing for her. As a human their cries were meaningless hollers on the wind. As a human she could cry along with them.

She wished that was all they were, nothing more than the wind.

Misty tensed as she felt another presence move in on her little world. She looked up to see one of her best friends standing before her.

"Hey," Misty smiled.

"Hey Kaz," she replied in her thick French accent.

"It's Misty now," she replied quietly.

"Sorry Myst," Emilie replied her angelic face emotionless even though a sly smile could be heard in her voice.

Misty laughed. It was refreshing to feel the laughter flowing through her and the smile pulling at her lips. It reminded her just how much of her was human.

"So . . ." Misty started but was cut off when she heard someone call her name.

"Misty," they called again.

"Over here Ash," she called closing her notebook.

Ash walked over to Misty's secluded little clearing and looked around.

"What?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing," Ash said blushing slightly.

_'**God I would kill to be able to read his thoughts right now**,'_ Misty said to Emilie.

_'**Exnee on the sixth commandment, ay**,'_ Emilie replied.

Misty giggled. Ash's blush deepened thinking she was laughing at him.

Unbeknownst to Ash, Emilie walked around him inspecting him from each angle just as her sisters had at the gym.

Misty rolled her eyes. _'**Why do people always do that whenever they see him?**'_ Misty asked.

Emilie shrugged. _'**He's pretty cute for a mortal, don't you think?**'_ Emilie mused. ****

Now it was Misty's turn to blush.

"So," Misty said hoping to change the conversation and get away from Emilie's thoughts on Ash, "what did you want?" she asked trying her best to sound somewhere between demanding and kind.

"I . . . uh . . ." Ash started scanning the clearing again as if the scenery would jog his memory. "Brock sent me to find you for dinner," he said suddenly.

"Ok Ash I'll just grab my things," she said grabbing the stuff around her.

_'**How very un . . . you of you**,'_ Emilie said.

Misty poked her tongue out at Emilie who just happened to be standing just behind Ash.

Ash stared at her oddly as if she had just sprouted a third eye or something. Who knows, maybe she had at least that would break the ice for the whole wing and halo thing.

"Um . . ." Misty started pulling her tongue back in.

"Come on," Ash said not even bothering to wait for her explanation. "Brock's waiting."

Sometimes it was just best not to ask questions with Misty. Like the way she would have these staring contests with Pikachu and some how at the end of it all she'd know more than he had told her. Or the way Pikachu would just curl into her arms and be asleep in seconds. Or the way that whenever he saw her he seemed to just loose all sense in his being and ended up doing and saying stupid things trying to impress her.

But then that was something completely different altogether that Ash will understand better at a later date so until then maybe it's best that we just stick with dinner.

"What were you doing so far into the forest?" Ash asked as he handed her a bowl of Brock's infamous noodle soup.

It had been a silent treck back to the campsite as Ash continued to ponder about the girl walking beside him. Trying to figure her out.

Sometimes he thought that she was like some kind of angel, especially late at night when she was sleeping and the moon shone down upon her illuminating her fragile features. But she couldn't be, because as he often reasoned to himself, angels were up there above the clouds, above the stars not walking among us mere mortals as Misty was.

It never even occurred to him how true his thoughts of her could be.

Misty hadn't realized just how far away from their campsite she had wandered until she had to walk back. She had just started walking not caring where she went, not stopping until she came to her clearing. It had been a long way back, which was only lengthened by the silence that fell between them no matter how comfortable it seemed.

"Just trying to get away from it all," she said thoughtfully, gratefully taking the warm bowl of soup from Ash's hands.

She looked up at him and forced a small smile onto her face. The food looked and smelt great, but despite all this she lacked the appetite to take even a small spoonful of it. But she did, for Ash's sake she did because he seemed to almost relax and become less anxious from this simple gesture.

She smiled again, for his sake.

She found herself thinking about the smile on her face. It could quite possibly be the one thing she felt she missed out on as an angel. Smiling. It was something she had missed out on for more than half a millennium yet now it was something she couldn't help but do on a daily basis.

It was amazing how this simple facial expression that took merely nineteen (or is it fourteen, I can't remember) to produce could mean so much to a single person.

She was suddenly reminded of a famous quote her mother had often told her in life. "Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends in a single tear."

A smile could be the key to your heart, or just another inch in a grave you had already begun to dig long before you knew why. A smile can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it can make everything alright again or it can make you just want to lay down and die. It can do so much with so little yet when it isn't there is often when it holds its most significance. A smile can mend the pieces of a broken heart or force new cracks to appear where the old ones had already begun to heal.

A smile is contagious and it seems whatever its purpose, it usually hits its mark.

Her mother had one of the most beautiful smiles imaginable. People would say that all Elizabeth Waterflower had to do was smile and she would just light up the entire room.

Misty remembered little of her parents, she was so young when they died that the only family she truly knew were her three sisters who had always been there. One of the few things that had remained in her memory was her mother's smile. She had one of those pure smiles – just like Ash did – that always seemed to sparkle through their eyes. Theirs was the type that could never be faked.

Ash Ketchum was one of those people whose eyes said things that others still wasted time struggling to find words to replace the emotions that shone in his eyes. His eyes were what made him vulnerable because no matter how hard he tried to stay strong, and to appear as strong as possible they always exposed the emotions beneath.

"To get away from what?" Ash asked her taking his own bowl of soup and settling himself down next to her on the log.

"You," she teased smiling smugly at him.

"No really, what were you trying to get away from?" he asked again once their laughter had died down.

Misty stayed quiet while she thought up a suitable answer. She couldn't really tell him the truth, he wouldn't be able to handle that, at least not all of it.

"The weight of the world," she told him a slight laugh forced into her voice. He wouldn't know how true the statement was. To him it was just a metaphor, or hyperbole (A/N: I just studied for my English exam, that's my excuse) of her problems but to her and anyone else who heard the cries around her they were her problems.

Ash chuckled at this. "So what's the world done now?" he asked in the same whimsical tone of voice she had used.

_'It stole a poor woman's purse of money which she had planned to use to buy medicine for her sick child at home and food for the seven of them so maybe they could eat tonight after she had to sell her most prized possession, an heirloom from her grandmother to get the money,'_ she though to herself as she listened to a new cry floating on the wind.

"The world is heartless," she replied to Ash looking down at her bowl of soup. "It takes just as easily as if gives and it plays favourites to those who don't deserve it."

"Welcome to the real world Misty," Brock said. "That's just how life works."

"I know," she sighed looking up at the sky. "I guess I just kind of wished it would be different."

"We all do," Brock said, "but then at the end of the day, you just look towards the sunset and hope that there's a reason for it all."

"Its just not as easy as you might think," she sighed.

She looked at her two companions. They, like her were orphans in their own right but they still had more of a family than her.

Brock's mom had died when he was younger and his father had walked out on him and his brothers and sisters later on leaving them all alone until quite recently which allowed Brock to make his own journey. Ash's dad had simply just disappeared, no one really knows where but many suspect it had something to do with team rocket. But he still had his mom, where as all she had was her sisters and she truly was an orphan.

_'He works in mysterious way,'_ she thought looking again at the faces around her.

They were like a second family to her, even Ash's mom who she was yet to meet was like a mother to her. They were a new family to step in for the one she'd lost and the one she had to leave behind.

It wasn't so bad she guessed; they just weren't like the real thing though in some ways she was thankful for that. She hadn't heard the words 'like' 'totally' and 'whateva' come out of either of their mouths and she was sure that was a good thing.

She couldn't possibly imagine life without them, and quite frankly she didn't really want to.

They made up for everything that she missed out on in her first life, the days she never had the chance to live and everything else she was deprived of for that matter.

This was he family. These were her companions, they were fellow travellers on the same journey. They were her shoulder to cry on, a helping hand to help her through the toughest times, a shelter to shield her from the storm.

But most importantly they were her friends, and she couldn't bear to think of this life without them . . . but that's not what this part of the story is supposed to be about.

This is about a new addition to their little family consisting of herself, Ash and Brock, Pikachu, Pidgeotto and Butterfree, Goldeen, Staryu and Starmie, Onyx, Geodude and Zuubat so lets just fast forwards through to tomorrow.

They were, as expected from this particular trio of friends, lost as per bloody usual. This was probably due to the fact that Brock didn't know how to read a map, Ash lacked all sense of direction yet insisted on leading the group into what usually transpired to be danger and Misty was too busy trying to keep accident prone Ash out of trouble to offer any aid, celestial or otherwise.

She didn't even want to think about what happened the last time she left Ash to his own devices for more than a few minutes. Let's just say that it was not pretty and it delayed them for more than a couple of days.

So adding up all those factors – Ash's lack of direction, Brock's lack of map reading skills and Misty's lack of attention – and making a few complicated and rather unnecessary equations in your head, leaves our hero's somewhere amongst one of Kanto's many forests, but then this particular forest was special. It was the one roumoured to hold the hidden Pokemon village, but of course they didn't know that, yet.

"Can we please stop?" Misty begged turning her pleading eyes on Ash who could barely resist them as she lowered herself to the ground so she would look even more vulnerable and dismal from his position.

She was hoping for a few minutes rest so that she might be able to get them all back in the right direction – which she of course knew was the complete opposite to where they were heading – without having to worry about Ash almost killing himself again.

"C'mon Myst," he said sending her a cheeky grin that surely meant she wasn't going to be to chuffed with what he had to say. Strangely enough that naïve grin of his seemed to always put her in to a more agreeable state of mind.

"Don't tell me your wimpling out me?" he continued trying to sound traumatized or amazed. His smile broadened despite the low growl uttered from Misty's lips. "I guess with you being a girl and all you aren't quite up to keeping up with the guys like you thought."

So with those regrettable words said Misty was up in one swift angry motion twisting the heal of her shoe into the most vulnerable part of Ash's foot as she stormed off in any old direction quite rightly expecting the boys to follow her lead eventually as Pikachu was already at her side. How she wished she had been wearing a pair of stillettos.

"Owww!" Ash cried as quietly as he could grasping at his foot once he was sure Misty was out of sight and range. "Dammit, why can't Misty just be like regular girls?" he asked turning to Brock for some brotherly advice.

He tried to ignore that nagging little voice in his head that strangely enough sounded a lot like Brock reminding him that he wouldn't have her any other way.

"Hey don't look at me," Brock said holding his hands up in front of his face, "she's not my girlfriend."

"Wait! She's not my girlfriend!" Ash said frantically waving his arms about. "I mean she's a girl and she's my friend but she's not my 'GIRLFRIEND'. I mean you don't think me and Misty are . . .? It's Misty dammit!"

"You don't have to get all defensive on me," Brock replied, a smug, secretive smile playing on his lips. He kindly resisted the urge to roll his 'eyes' for Ash's sake. "I never said she was your girlfriend," he explained to the hysterical pre-teen the smile never leaving his face, "I just said she wasn't mine. Now I suggest we go after Pikachu and Misty before the poor girl gets herself lost or something."

"I hope she's ok," Ash said absentmindedly, "there sure are a lot of bugs in this forest."

Brock chuckled lightly as he followed Ash's lead into the same direction Misty left to.

_'If that's not love, I don't know what is,'_ he thought as he smiled to himself storing it all into his memory for future black mail material.

_'Dammit,'_ Misty thought to herself angrily. _'Why didn't I take the map with me when I stormed off? Then I could have at least tried to get us in the right direction.'_

"Oh just great," Misty muttered to Pikachu. "Now we're even more lost then we were to begin with. How are we ever supposed to get out of this bug infested forest?"

_'**I'm sure we'll get out eventually**,'_ Pikachu replied telepathically. _'**You know Ash tends to have away of getting himself in and out of this kind of situation**.'_

"Don't I ever," Misty sighed. "Where the hell are they any way? Does it really take them that long to get a clue?"

"Take who how long to get a what?" Ash asked as he pushed his way through a patch of tree's that Misty had walked through a few minutes later.

"Oh nothing," Misty replied nonchalantly. "So now you two lazy slobs have finally caught up can we get going again?"

"Hey, just a few moments ago you were complaining about needing a rest," Ash stated matter of factly daring Misty to retort.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting her for you two to catch up?" she asked hands on her hips and head cocked to the side in the same daring response. Now it was war. "Don't tell me you got lost, again," she stated raising an eyebrow at him.

"Like you can talk Misty," he said stepping up to the challenge and into one of their regular arguments. "Just look who's got us lost now."

Brock shook his head and sighed. He wasn't sure how two people in his mind who were so totally in love could fight the way these two did. He often struggled to remember a time when the two weren't at each other's throats. He supposed it was all just pent up sexual tension that seemed to cause it.

"Are you trying to tell me that we weren't already lost to begin with Ketchum?" Misty said eyeing him angrily.

"Are you trying to say that we're not now?" he asked her in reply.

"Look, will you two just quit this before it goes to far?" Brock told them. "You know the sooner you two stop fighting the soon we can get out of this place."

"Fine," the two said turning their backs on one another.

"Good, now if you'd just follow me I think that bridge over there may be our ticket out of here," he said heading off in the direction of a rather old looking bridge. "Though it doesn't seem to be on the map . . ." he added more to himself than anyone else.

Misty cringed as visions flashed before her eyes warningly.

_It was Ash trailing behind herself and Brock as they crossed the bridge. He stopped in the middle as something in the raging river caught his eye. He called for her to come look at it with him but she refused to step off the solid ground beneath her feet and back onto rickety bridge. _

_He called to her again, pleading with those chocolate brown eyes of his as if he knew the power they seemed to have over her. She sighed as she began to give in. She was about to take a step onto the wooden board when Brock pulled her back because suddenly the bridge wasn't there anymore and neither was Ash._

_She had failed._

Misty shook her head as she tried to rid herself of the vision that kept passing before her closed eyes.

She was glad neither of the boys noticed her sudden state because she wasn't sure if she would have been able to explain it to them. Both of them were currently preoccupied with testing the bridge to see if it would hold them or not.

She was the only one who knew the answer for sure. It wouldn't, perhaps for a little while it would hold them in place, but not long enough.

"Guys, I think we should find another way across," she suggested apprehensively hoping that for once they would head her warning.

"C'mon Misty, it's a lot sturdier than it looks," Ash replied their previous fight forgotten as he stepped nonchalantly onto the bridge to prove his point. "You'll be ok Myst," he added.

"It's not me I'm worrying about," she muttered.

Misty sighed. There was no getting through to him now. Ash was stubborn and once he got his mind set on something not even her mallet could sway him.

She hadn't been able to save him in her vision, but this time round she wouldn't fail him. There had to be a way for him to save him, they wouldn't have warned her if she couldn't, they just seemed to think it was fun to watch her work it out on her own.

Boy did it suck being half mortal sometimes.

"Then cross the bridge first," she suggested smugly. "Prove you're as brave as you say you are."

"You're on Myst," he replied his eyes flashing with excitement. "C'mon Pik, we'll show her."

Pikachu's eyes turned to her questioningly for a second before it moved to it's masters side.

_'**Are you sure?**'_ he asked her apprehensively.

Misty nodded subtely. _'**Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.**'_ God she hoped it were true.

Ash and Pikachu crossed to the other side of the bridge without any adverse disturbances.

"See Myst," he called from the other side. "It's perfectly safe."

"Fine," she sighed fauxly as she began to cross the bridge. To be frank, she was just glad Ash had gotten across in one piece.

Brock waited patiently for her to get most of the way across just in case the bridge couldn't handle the weight of two people. He stepped onto the bridge seconds before Misty could get off but it seemed even that was too soon, for at that very moment a swift wind swept by causing the bridge to sway.

The extra weight on the bridge combined with the force of the wind was too much for the thinning ropes that held it all together and they snapped.

Misty and Brock both stood still on the bridge despite the sound of ropes breaking around them. They were paralysed with fear, they couldn't move no matter what they did, they were like a set of deers in headlights with the fear controlling every aspect of their being.

And then it struck her. The bridge was breaking away and she needed to get off it or she would be going down with it.

"Misty!" she heard Ash calling her away from her temporary paralysis.

She turned to face him her mind still trying to understand what was happening around her and what she was to do and for a very long moment all she could do was stand there looking at him blankly.

Her eyes met his and she couldn't look away. All she could do was stand there trying to define all the emotions that passed through them. Worry, that one she could see clearly dominating over any other thought that crossed his mind. For a second she wondered what he was worried about but her mind had already moved on without her before she could get her answer.

She could see fear in there too lying somewhere amongst the anguish and apprehension. She could see pain, shock and all these other easily defined emotions that flashed through his chocolate brown eyes but there was this one thing that held her attention for longer than the rest. There was something in her eyes that she had never been able to understand and for some odd reason it made her pulse accelerate and made it so much harder for her to look away.

"Misty!" she heard him call again. The sound of his voice was beginning to be dulled out by her heartbeat and the thoughts starting to spin around in her head.

It was then that it happened.

The bridge couldn't take it anymore and it snapped with Misty standing only a few steps away from safety. The bridge was falling away beneath her feet just like it had in her premonition so she did the only thing she could think of as she began to fall with it.

She grabbed onto the only available grip of any kind and held on for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to convince herself that she wasn't suspended above a river holding onto a rickety old bridge as her only life line which had already snapped in two only seconds earlier.

It was kind of funny in an ironic sense that someone who had the ability to fly, who had been dead for almost six hundred years was so afraid of plummeting to her doom right now, but I suppose we all are when faced with our mortality. Even those who are only part mortal, perhaps even the immortal.

"Misty, grab my hand," she heard Ash's voice break through her fear once again.

"I can't," she replied clutching her arms tighter around the board of wood as tears streamed from her closed eyes.

"Misty," he said softly trying to sound as calm as possible.

He was almost as scared as she was. She would probably never know just how scared he was of losing her that very moment and that was the only thing that was going through his mind.

"I'm scared Ash," she admitted quietly still not wanting to open her eyes.

"Please Misty," he said softly doing his best to comfort her. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her now and he was doing anything he could to stop that from happening. "Just open your eyes and look at me."

She cautiously opened her eyes and met his warm chocolate brown eyes filled with all the emotions she saw before but now they held a sense of determination that wasn't present before. He was going to make sure she got through this alive no matter what and that was one thing she was thankful for.

"Take my hand Misty," he told her as he reached for her. "You can do it Misty. I know you can."

Misty nodded and closed her eyes one last time as she took a deep calming breath. Ash believed in her, he believed that she could do it; all she needed now was to believe in her self.

She opened her eyes again and looked up into his handsome face. She couldn't help but notice the way things seemed to sort of blur around them as their eyes met and she couldn't draw herself away even if she wanted to.

So tightening her grip with her left arm around her plank of wood she reached up and clasped Ash's hand in her own.

It was so warm and gentle just like Ash. She shook off the spark of electricity she felt surge where their skin brushed against one another and tried to convince that it was just down to all the fear that she was feeling. To think Ash was doing the exact same thing.

Within a couple of minutes Misty was finally back on solid ground with Ash's arms wrapped around her petite figure.

She fell into his embrace as if it were a warm blanket there to protect her from the evils of this world. It was the only place she could think of where she ever felt truly safe and that was what she needed right then.

For a long time the two stayed like that subconsciously comforting each other's fears of losing one another.

Misty turned her head slightly and looked towards the other side of the gorge searching for their other friend who had also been caught on the broken bridge. He wasn't there and all of a sudden Misty just couldn't handle that.

Brock had been like an older brother to all of them and it was her fault that he wasn't with them, safe on the other side of this massive gully. She had sacrificed Brock's safety for Ash's simply because it was what was expected of her and now he was gone.

Only minutes earlier she had been sobbing into Ash's arms because of her close call with mortality, something she had already experienced before and here was Brock, dead.

_'Oh god Brock, I'm so sorry,'_ she thought as she continually sobbed into Ash's quickly dampening shirt. _'I'm just so sorry, and I just hope that you're able to forgive me.'_

to be continued

Hey! I'm sorry for the massive wait on updates, but it's hard for me to find time to update. I'm going to warn you in advance that the next update probably won't be for another few months, (probably not till my next set of holidays at the earliest) but I will try my best though I'm pretty sure I haven't finished writing this next chapter yet.

Anyway, please review and don't be afraid to tell me what you think.


	8. Isn't It Ironic

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon. Never have, never will so lets just get on with the story.

Now before we begin, I just want to say a quick sorry of how long it has taken me to update this thing. I had written almost the entire story and was just waiting for inspiration on how to write the last page – basically from Team Rocket onwards, which as many know, battles and the like are not my strong suit. But anyways, don't let this author waffle put you off and read on.

On Angels Wings - Isn't It Ironic

"Shh Myst," Ash said calmly as he gently rubbed his hand up and down her back in a comforting manner. "It'll be alright now."

"How can you say that?" she asked him looking up with teary eyes. "Brock's dead and it's all my fault."

"How can you say that?" Ash countered with a slight chuckle. "Brock is not dead Misty, and even if he was I assure you it's not your fault," he insisted.

"But Ash . . ." she began but he cut her off, gently placing his index finger against her lips.

He didn't say a word after that as he slowly got up and offered his hand for her to take.

For a few moments all she could do was look at him. Something about him seemed different. She couldn't seem to figure out what it was, but she got the feeling that something had changed about him; that he wasn't the same boy as before.

She reached up and grasped his hand as he pulled her to her feet, once again brushing off the feeling that seemed to rush through her body.

"If there's any luck then Brock would have washed up somewhere, so if we follow the stream we should be able to find him," Ash spoke with an uncanny intelligence which always seemed to appear when it was needed the most.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed as it walked along the ground at his masters heals.

"But what if we don't find him?" Misty asked worriedly as she looked to the sky above for some sort of answer.

Brock was like an older brother to her. He couldn't die; it just wouldn't be fair. She had already lost far too many people in her few years of life, she couldn't handle another one, she didn't want to.

And what about his family? Brock had fourteen brothers and sisters that looked up to him, who he had been both father and mother to for a large portion of his life. What would they do if Brock were lost forever?

"Well then it only means one thing," Ash replied in a sombre tone, interrupting Misty's trail of thought, "that Brock has been washed out to sea where he was picked up by a bunch of pirates, and Johnny Depp, who decides to help him in his search for the black pearl.

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's happy," Ash told her in a mock serious tone as he stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. "I mean he gets to make out with that girl he liked from 'Bend It Like Beckham'."

Misty couldn't help but let out a giggle as she swatted away his hands. "I think you've got him confused with Orlando Bloom, dufus," she responded.

Ash just looked at her and smiled as he began to walk away. He had succeeded and that was all that mattered.

If acting like an idiot caused even the faintest hint of a smile to grace her beautiful face, then he would forever be an idiot in her presence.

Misty stood still for a few seconds.

She sighed. Just when she finally thought she understood Ash Ketchum, he did something like this to thoroughly confuse her once again. She didn't think she'd ever truly be able to understand him. She just hoped when she finally does come to her enlightened stage she won't be drinking anything, the hilarity of such a discovery would surely cause milk, or whatever beverage she was sipping on, to squirt out of her nose.

"Hey Ash, wait up!" she called as she realised just how long she had been standing thinking about him.

He turned around and laughed heartily at her as he walked backwards so he could watch her.

"Really Misty," he sighed smiling bravely at her. "Why can't you just admit that you can't keep up with the boys?"

"Ash Ketchum, why can't you just admit that I can?" she retorted glaring dangerously.

"Because that would be lying Myst," he called over his shoulder as he began to run away from her.

"Why I oughta . . ." she trailed off as he disappeared out of her view rather suddenly, almost as if he'd simply disappeared into thin air. "Where on earth are you Ketchum?" she asked more to herself than anyone as she searched her surroundings for him.

"Down here," a familiar voice replied.

Misty looked down, surprised to find a huge gaping hole in the ground in front of her feet, and even more surprised to find a grubbier than usual Ash Ketchum looking up at her, smiling coyly in her general direction.

"A little help please?" he offered looking at her pleadingly and reaching his grubby little hand towards her.

Misty scoffed and pushed her copper hair away from her face.

"Yeah right Ketchum," she replied glaring at him. "I've got a right mind to just leave you stranded there for the rest of eternity."

"Awww, c'mon Myst," he whined looking up at her pitifully, "you know I was only kidding."

"Why should I help you anyways?" she asked expecting some kind of lame-brained thoughtless excuse.

"Cos I'm your best friend?" he offered knowing straight off that it wouldn't work from the unchanging look in her eyes.

He was silent for a few seconds as he thought of the perfect reason though it brought up something, which was strictly taboo in all of their conversations. He guessed it was worth the risk.

"Because if you don't help me out of this hole I can honestly assure you that you will NEVER get your bike back," he told her crossing his arms across his chest and smiling smugly.

Misty looked unimpressed. "And whose to say the same can't be applied to me actually helping you out of this hole?" she asked waiting for the answer.

"Well, I guess when you put it that way," he said smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, "but at least this way the chances of you getting it back are slightly improved and . . ."

"_**Kasumi**,"_ a voice called distracting her from what Ash was saying. "_**If Ash Ketchum isn't out of that hole within the hour then we may be forced to take drastic measures of our own**,"_ the voice warned causing Misty to gulp.

"Fine, fine, fine," she sighed, cutting off Ash's explanation. "Just let me find something to help you up with," she told both the boy below and the heavenly beings above as she searched her surroundings for a rope or a vine or some kind of thingy-ma-jig she could use to help him out of the hole.

After a careful search, she discovered there was nothing even close to either of the two items she had hoped to fine anywhere near them. The only thing she could think of was to go back to the bridge and steal it's ropes, but after the happenings there not only had she sworn never to go anywhere near a bridge ever again, but she just didn't trust that bridge with her life or Ash's for that matter.

Misty looked down into the hole hoping that maybe it could answer her questions.

'_Obviously not a Team Rocket hole,'_ Misty thought to herself with a smile after careful inspection.

For starters, the hole was very well camouflaged; there had been very little difference between it and the actual ground surrounding it. Secondly, the hole was very deep. It was at least twice the height of Ash, which despite Ash's lack of a growth spurt was still pretty deep. Team Rocket holes were characteristically idiotically shallow and they were usually able to climb out within seconds.

This was a different story. Even if Ash had been even the tiniest bit taller she wouldn't have been able to reach him so she was going to have to find another way around this problem.

"_**Only forty-nine minutes and twenty eight seconds**,"_ a celestial voice in her head reminded her as if answering some unasked question.

Misty's eyes narrowed dangerously. Damn, sometimes the Powers That Be could be real pretentious asses. Why did they have to always act so god damn faultless? I mean, aside from the fact that they were a whole other class of being that actually was perfect.

"Hey Misty," Ash called knocking her back to reality. "Could you quit glaring at random objects and help me out of this hole?" he suggested looking at her pleadingly and reaching both his arms up towards her like a small child.

"What kind of moron gets himself stuck in a trap anyway?" she muttered as she developed some sort of plan in her head which would be worthy of a little help from her spectators.

Misty sighed exasperatedly as she pulled her two prized pokeball's from her belt. She let out the two starfish and quickly explained to them exactly what she needed to happen.

Ash watched expectantly waiting for Misty to make her move. He was never sure what to expect from her, it was exhilarating just to be around her trying to guess her strategies and manoeuvres.

"Staryu, Starmie," Misty called happily looking to her Pokemon, "tackle attack."

"Misty I'm sorry," Ash pleaded as the two stars began to fly towards him at an incomprehensible speed. "I promise I'll get you your bike, just please don't kill me."

He covered his eyes praying to every god known to man that there really was a heart somewhere under Misty's harsh exterior; his life was depending on it.

A rush of air swept past him, tugging at his clothes and he was completely still for a few moments waiting for the pain to come.

'_I must be dead,'_ he thought to himself as he slowly removed his hands from across his eyes. '_And this must be heaven,'_ he added as he looked up to see Misty's angelic face smiling back at him bathed in what could only be described as a heavenly glow.

"Wimp," she muttered as her smile contorted into a smirk and she tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

Now he was sure it wasn't heaven. The smirk was just too real to be anything but the real Misty, the self-reputed spawn of Satan or something very much similar.

Pikachu laughed from its position above him still remembering that look of complete awe and adoration that had shrouded Ash's face only moments earlier. Now this was the sort of story he would have to tell their grandchildren.

If Ash had kept his eyes open for a few moments longer, perhaps he would have noticed the fact that Staryu and Starmie weren't actually aiming for him. Then he would have understood the rush of wind as the two went past, but of course he had expected death with Misty around.

Ash looked behind him where the two water-loving creatures balanced firmly embedded into the earth, one at two feet from the ground and the other at four feet. With them in place Ash was able to crawl up to a level where Misty was able to help him back up to somewhere above sea level.

"Um . . . thanks Myst," he said blushing as he took her hand in his so she could help him out of the hole.

He couldn't help but find it . . . well . . . ironic almost that they had found themselves so quickly in a position almost the exact opposite of their previous one.

"You're welcome," Misty replied, she too blushing but not yet willing to admit that fact.

"So . . . um," she continued lamely as her blushes turned to those of embarrassment. "Let's find Brock," she finished over-eagerly as she went off not daring to look back at Ash just in case he saw something in her that she didn't yet understand.

'_Dammit,'_ Misty thought to herself as she walked ahead, cursing despite her celestial mind frame, '_why do I always end up acting like such a complete dork around him?'_

It was a pretty fair question to ask, one we are sure to come across again in later chapters of this story. Heck, we may even find a way to answer it soon enough.

'_**Do you want me to tell you?**'_ the mischievous voice of a fellow angel replied after tapping into her thoughts.

'_**Emilie, get out of my head right this instant or I will seriously kill you,**'_ Misty replied in a voice that proved she was in fact telling the truth and had nothing against murder of the first degree.

'_**That's ok,**'_ Emilie answered, totally unfazed despite Misty's threats, '_**I'm already dead.**'_

'_**Arrghhh!**'_ Misty cried out mentally in her anguish. '_**You should just be glad I'm an angel, perhaps if I wasn't I'd be willing to overlook that fact. You'd be so . . .**'_

Misty was cut off mid-sentence. She would have been quite happy to continue her insane ramblings and plot her revenge upon Ash's heavenly counterpart but, to her surprise and horror, she was quite literally swept off her feet.

"Ash," she yelled calling on her only means of defence to get her out of another of these undeniably sticky situations she tended to find herself in, sometimes even without his help. It seemed that for once in all the time she had known him; he wasn't actually the reason for her to be hanging five feet above the ground.

"What Mis . . ." he began but trailed off once he saw the position she had gotten herself into.

"Remind me again Misty, what was that you were saying before about morons and traps?" he asked smiling smugly at her from his position on the ground and kindly resisting the urge to chuckle loudly.

"Just shut up and help me," she whined pitifully tugging slightly on the ropes, which only caused this ordeal to become more uncomfortable.

'_**This is your fault, isn't it?**'_ she asked the angel in her head angrily. '_**Just because I didn't help him out of the hole straight away you all decide to avenge the boy. In what twisted world are you living in where this is somebody's idea of a clever little joke? Have none of you ever heard of the term 'cruel and unusual punishment'? Because I think this pretty much falls into that category.**'_

"Give me one good reason why I should help you?" Ash replied repeating her tactics.

Obviously he was enjoying this. It was just so fun to taunt Misty some times, I mean especially when you knew that she couldn't hit you back.

"Because I'm your best friend," she replied sarcastically as she glared at him waiting for his response.

"Now ask nicely."

"Oh great Master Ash, will you please help me, a lowly servant of your brilliance, out of these ropes that restrain me?" she asked dramatically resisting the urge to barf all over him.

"Now we're talking," he said as he took a step forward unknowingly knocking another trick wire and ending up with himself and Pikachu in the exact same position as Misty.

Misty got straight into business. She carefully swung her net to one side, then back in the other direction so her feet hit Ash squarely in the back.

"That was for taunting me," she said as she pushed herself back again and repeated the process again. "And that was for screwing things up."

"Aw, c'mon Myst," Ash whined playfully smiling ever so sweetly, "how was I to know there was a second trick wire?" he asked.

"Pfft," she replied haughtily crossing her arms tightly across her chest and turning her nose in the air. She was not in the mood for arguing with Ash, especially seeing as she didn't have a comeback.

"_**Kasumi,**"_ the annoying little holy voice in her head warned once again, "_**do you want this situation to be more uncomfortable than it already is?**"_

'_Pfft,'_ Misty called out once again, although this time in her head. "_**What could be worse than this?**"_

She wasn't scared of a few puny celestial beings with their flowing white robes and fluffy white wings. I mean really, what could they do to her from all the way up in heaven? Angels were peace-loving creatures who barely understood the meaning of cruelty.

Boy did she wish she had heeded their warning. Especially when her and Ash's nets seemed to some how moosh together so that they were both sitting in the same net.

How this had happened, she wasn't quite sure, but she would bet every penny she had that she at least knew who was behind it.

"_**Ok, you win,**" _she sighed resignedly. "_**I admit it, this is worse; so are you gonna un-moosh our nets so that we can get out of here.**"_

"_**As much as we would all like to help you out,**" _a monotonous voice replied obviously mocking her through her awful predicament. "_**We're sorry Kasumi, but it's against our rules. I guess you guys are just going to have to get out on your own.**"_

"_**What do you mean it's against heaven rules! What about that little stunt you just played with the net mooshing! Are you trying to tell me that was completely permissible and this isn't?**"_

"_**What 'net mooshing'?**"_ the PTB replied. "_**We really have no idea what you are talking about, Kasumi.**"_

"_**Fine then, have it your way,**"_ she muttered to them, obvious more than a little peeved, "_**but how exactly is it that we get out of this mess that is so totally not my fault?**"_

"_**I suggest you jiggle.**"_

"Jiggle?" Misty muttered disdainfully aloud.

"What Misty?" Ash asked looking at her inquisitively.

"Oh I," she began to explain, "I was just thinking that maybe if we jiggled around a bit we could loosen the knots or something and get out."

"Jiggle?" he asked in a tone very similar to her own when she first found out about the suggestion. "Well I guess if there's nothing else we can do," he sighed tiredly.

And so Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower jiggled like they had never jiggled before doing everything they could to get out of their situation.

"Oww, that's my leg you dimwit!" Misty cried out in pain as Ash somehow managed to jiggle his foot into her shin.

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly, stopping mid-jiggle and scratching the back of his head – an obvious sign of his embarrassment.

"Ouch!" Ash cried out a few minutes later as Misty 'accidentally' jiggled her elbow into his stomach.

Actually, all things consider, I guess it really was some what of an accident. I mean, she hadn't actually meant to get his stomach if you catch my drift.

So as you can probably guess, things pretty much carried on like this getting funnier and funnier by the minute.

Perhaps that was why instead of straight away going to help his two friends out of their predicament, a not so dead Brock decided simply to stand slightly out of their line of vision chuckling silently to him self. However, after a few minutes, he did take pity on the two and let out a subtle cough, which caused the two to freeze mid-jiggle once again.

The two pre-teens eyes widened with surprise and recognition causing them to fall into stunned stupor. At least until –

"Ahhhhh! Ghost!" Misty screamed as she latched onto Ash and buried her face in his shoulder.

"He's not a ghost Misty," Ash reasoned shrewdly. "Ghosts are transparent and wear bed sheets with holes in them for eyes."

Brock rolled his 'eyes' at Ash's logic but agreed all the same. "I'm not a ghost Misty," he told her. "I know that for a fact."

"But how?" she asked as she moved as far away from Ash as she could get within the confines of the net. "You fell."

"I know, and Melanie saved me," he told her and within an instant her mind was flooded with images of Brocks ordeal.

Misty smiled as the familiar glint returned to her aquamarine eyes. "Who's Melanie?" she asked curiously smiling ever so innocently.

Brock immediately turned about ten different shades of red and turned his backs on them to work on the ropes in the hopes that they wouldn't notice. "She's the one who set the trap that you two idiots seemed to have managed to get yourselves caught in," he told them trying to act as normal as physically possible for Brock.

Misty just continued to smile smugly, at least until she and Ash dropped abruptly to the ground in a tangled heap of arms, legs and tail.

"Sorry," Brock offered shamefacedly despite the fact that he was glad to have that smug look wiped of Misty's face.

Pikachu growled, he wasn't happy about being stuck at the bottom of this heap of humans and Pokemon, and so without warning he let out a quick burst of electricity making the two trainers cry out in pain.

"I guess we should go see Melanie," Brock suggested trying his hardest not to laugh at his two friends. "She might be able to do something for those burns," he added as an afterthought.

"Thanks Brock," Ash strained before falling to the ground once again in a dead faint.

Later, in a delightful cottage in a small clearing not too far from the trap they had ended up in, our hero's sat around an old wooden table with a pretty burnet telling stories to one another about how they got here.

"So you're kind of like a nurse," Misty suggested after listening to the interesting tale that was being explained to them. "And this is kind of like a Pokemon centre."

"Well, unofficially," Melanie, the pretty burnet, replied thoughtfully, "but I guess that's really the best way to describe it. If the Pokemon are hurt or abandoned they can come here to heal without worrying about battles or trainers."

"But what about the traps?" Ash asked with boyish curiosity. "What's with all the precautions?"

"It's to keep away poachers and people who want to try and capture these Pokemon while they're still recuperating," she told him. "The Pokemon are too weak to defend them selves properly and some weak trainers try to take advantage of that."

"That's awful," Brock butted in dramatically. "And I can assure you Melanie that none of us would ever do something so utterly immoral."

"Um . . . thanks Brock," she replied. She wasn't quite sure what to say, and so to resolve her unease she quickly changed the subject. "Do you guys want a quick tour of the place?"

"Yeah, sure," Ash replied excitedly before anybody else had the chance to reply.

Melanie smiled at the young boys enthusiasm and then quickly got up and led them all outside to her Pokemon hideaway. Pokemon of all different types carried on together as if they were one family.

"Ash, look. A butterfree," Misty observed pointing the creature out to him.

"Wow, cool," Ash exclaimed just like a little boy. "Hey, maybe I should let my butterfree out to meet it?" he suggested as he pulled out the butterfly like creatures red and white Pokeball.

Ash held the ball poised in his hand ready to be thrown so he could call out the bug/flying type, but before he could even get the words 'Pokeball go' out of his mouth a green vine seemed to shoot our from nowhere knocking the ball out of his hand and onto the floor.

Another vine shot out in an instant pushing Ash backwards and while he was regaining his balance a score of razor sharp leaves came out of nowhere heading right for him.

Misty acted instantly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if she was in deep thought. Within the darkness she reached towards a part of her mind that only her kind could employ and willed all harm to cease.

Ash tried desperately to move, but it was as if his mind and his body were two different things. His body had gone into shock and he was paralysed with fear and a sense of deadly familiar de ja vu.

Those razor sharp leaves continued to head towards him until suddenly they stopped and fell to the ground.

"Bad Bulbasaur," Melanie scolded, knocking Ash out of his trance. "Ash was just trying to let out his Pokemon."

"Bulba bul ba," the dinosaur type Pokemon replied as it turned it's back on the humans and began to sulk.

"Don't mind him," Melanie told them as she watched Bulbasaur from the corner of her eye. "He's just a little over-protective of the other Pokemon here. This is Bulbasaur; he feels it's his job to protect them. Sometimes I worry that maybe he does too good a job of it."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked seeing as the other two members of her group couldn't reply. Ash was still stunned from his second . . . no third – I've lost count – near death experience that day and Brock was too caught up in drooling over Melanie to pay any attention to what she was saying.

"It's safe here," Melanie replied with a sigh, "so safe in fact that the other Pokemon don't want to leave."

Ash nodded with understanding and shook himself out of his trance. He walked past Melanie to where Bulbasaur was still sulking (also known as eavesdropping giggle I ain't been dropping no eaves). He knelt down next to Bulbasaur and reached into his backpack for a peace offering – some of Brock's super-deluxe poke-chow.

"**_Please Bulbasaur,"_** Misty spoke as she reached out to the Pokemon with her mind. "**_You can trust us. You can trust him."_**

But no matter how hard she tried to reach him, it really seemed futile. Bulbasaur had put up wall and Misty's words were rejected, though not unheard.

Bulbasaur glared at the new trio, each of them seemingly more despicable than the other. He didn't trust humans – aside from Melanie who had proven herself beyond words – and he hardly trusted other Pokemon, especially trained and loved ones like Pikachu who he couldn't help but envy.

But most of all – more than all those others combined – he didn't trust God. God had dealt him a foul hand, and as his representative, Misty had a lot of explaining to do.

These thoughts were sent to her via a tiny little Oddish nearby who wished to help Bulbasaur and save him from himself. She was sent all sorts of horrible, painful images of abandonment and abuse of the absolute worst kind. She had to physically restrain herself from shuddering as she assured the creature that she would do her best.

"I'm sorry you got the wrong idea Bulba," Ash told him affectionately. "I promise you I wasn't trying to catch Butterfree and I wouldn't ever try to catch any of the Pokemon here in the Valley. You have my word."

Bulbasaur seemed almost at a standoff with the tasty treat before him. He eventually conceded and offered Ash a sort of smile to show he understood and took the poke-chow from Ash's hand without another word.

"Wow Ash," Misty smiled teasingly, "looks like you've made a new friend. At this rate, he might stop glaring at you in a few years."

Ash just looked at her and replied smugly, "Just wait. I won you over didn't I?" to which Misty could only glare in response. God she hated it when Emilie was right.

The group walked blissfully around Melanie's little refuge. Melanie spoke of the torment the Pokemon had been through and her dreams to be a Pokemon Nurse as the others (especially Brock) listened dutifully and awed at the range of beautiful Pokemon around them.

In other words, it was time for Team Rocket to come into the equation and destroy all previous serenity.

The gruesome twosome appeared on the scene with the usual motto followed by the Meowth ready to put his two cents in. As usual the audience was nearly bored to tears, but that meant nothing to the team of troublemakers.

"Now give us all the Pokemons or we'll have to take them by force," Meowth demanded with an outstretched paw. "And that mean's Pikachu too, twerp!"

Ash was unfazed by their demands and quickly too his fighting stances. "Pikachu, thunder shock!"

"Oh no, you're not going to get away that easily," James muttered theatrically as he pressed the mythical red button.

"Meet robo-meowth," Jesse giggled as the three of them strapped themselves into the contraption. "State of the art, idiot proof German machinery. And, most importantly, resistant to electricity. Give us your best shot twerp."

Jesse smiled cruelly as she saw Ash's face dropped. Pikachu's electric based attacks had always been his answer to the rocket problem, but if things were as Jesse said they were, there was nothing Pikachu could do.

"Aw, just look at them," Jesse sighed gleefully. "It'll almost be a shame not to be around to see the look on their pitiful little faces when they realise that we've won."

Her comrades chuckled along with her as they watched the group's faces turn to sad determination. She loved it when they put up a good fight.

"Time to give these suckers a taste of their own medicine," Meowth growled as he pressed the other red button. The machine instantly converted itself into a super sucking vacuum cleaner (no surprise there) and set to work sucking everything around it as Pokemon and man alike stood their ground

'_Geez,'_ Misty thought exasperatedly as she glared at the machine and its three dastardly passengers, '_why does it always have to be a red button? Why can't it be purple or blue or something nice that would inspire a sense of calm and serenity?'_

Before anybody even had a chance to think about what was happening, Ash was already in action catching flightless Pokemon in mid-flight and landing them safely out of harms reach. Ash was in control, ushering humans and Pokemon to safety, issuing orders until almost everyone was safe inside the cabin.

All but one . . .

"Where's Bulbasaur?" Melanie asked desperately searching their safe house for the steadfast Pokemon.

Misty spotted him first, but then again, she had the advantage of knowing where to look. A wave of determination led her to where the plant Pokemon stood bravely and determinedly facing off Team Rockets' machine. He was clearly tiring, as though he'd used every attack within him in the desperate and futile attempts to save his companions.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash called as he ran out to meet him. "Come on, you've got to get out of there."

The small dinosaur looked to Ash, briefly regarding him and his motives before deciding on a look of mild annoyance. He continued to fight off the machine with he had, in spite of barely having the strength to ground himself.

"**_Please Bulbasaur,"_** Misty begged the creature, silently praying for both their live, "_**let him help you. You don't have to face the world alone**."_

"Look what we have," Jesse smiled, scheming as she watched the scene unfold. "The twerp and his mouse have come out to play. I say we make matters interesting boys."

"Aye, aye cap'n."

"Suction to maximum power"

What happened next seemed to occur almost in slow motion. With the suction increased Pikachu was pulled into the air and on instinct alone, Bulbasaur's vines shot into the air to catch Pikachu. It was without thinking, for in doing so, he began losing his secure grip on the world and was dragged into the air.

Misty hardened her jaw. She was fully prepared to do everything in her power to save the two Pokemon stranded in mid-air, but as she attempted to move them out of harms way her powers were seemingly blocked and thus rendered useless.

"_**Cease Kasumi**," _the monotonous voice of the powers that be commanded sternly. "**_This is not your fight."_**

"**_But how am I supposed to help him?"_** she asked desperately as she gazed towards Ash who stood crying out instructions to the Pokemon above him. He held onto a nearby tree with one hand while the other stopped his hat - his most prized possession - from flying away.

"**_He must fight this battle alone, Kasumi,"_** they replied vaguely. "**_He must be tested, and you must not interfere."_**

Misty sighed dejectedly. She felt so utterly helpless knowing that he was in need and there was so little she could do for him.

"Bulbasaur," Ash called to the bulbous Pokemon. "I need you to let me help you. You have to trust me."

The Pokemon's only reply was a steadfast glare. He refused to let anyone help him, he refused to trust another human. Years of torture and pain had taught him well; humans could not be trusted, they did not deserve to be trusted, they would not be trusted.

Ash locked eyes with Bulbasaur, attempting to confer information through whatever means available to him. His look of unfaltering determination matched that of the tiny dinosaur as he finalised the details of his plan in his head.

"Bulbasaur, I need you to let go," Ash explained, to which he received a look that was a mixture of confusion and stubborn refusal. Ash sighed and look to his own Pokemon who nodded his head in understanding. "I need you to let go of Pikachu," he added reluctantly, "and I need you to trust me."

Bulbasaur examined the boy in front of him for a few moments and awaited an explanation. There was something very sincere in his eyes and in his voice that almost made him want to believe in mankind. Was this mere boy truly about to sacrifice his own Pokemon for the life another?

And so, very slowly, Bulbasaur began to loosen his grip on the tree and on Pikachu, wrapped securely in his vines. There was no turning back.

Ash reacted quickly, calling for a thunderbolt attack as he released two empty pokeballs into the air. One collected Bulbasaur, safely securing him from harm; the other was for Pikachu who released his attack into the inner workings of the machine where it would do untold damage before he two was encased in that reproachable pokeball.

Misty smiled as Ash's precious hat flew into the air. '_At least there's one thing I can do,'_ she thought stubbornly to herself as she saved the hat from almost certain obliteration and Team Rocket were blasted off into the distant.

Once again, Ash had saved the day with only a little of Misty's celestial help.

With the danger overcome, Ash immediately let the two Pokemon out of the pokeballs that had encased them. Pikachu glared at Ash for a moment as he was set free of his poke prison, but was soon sharing high fives with his friend and master. Bulbasaur seemed uncertain as he was set free and curiously watched the scene play out between Ash and Pikachu.

Misty walked slowly over to the small group carrying her spoils of war; she had saved the cap, even if she hadn't been allowed to save Ash himself. Oddish trailed happily behind her, apparently taking a fancy to the celestial being.

She smiled as she placed the hat atop his head. He got up slowly from his crouched position and looked her with a curious smile.

"You did good, Ketchum," she explained almost ruefully, flicking his cap into place.

"Is that a compliment, Misty?" he asked as a broad smile spread to his lips.

"Maybe," Misty replied with a shrug, "but you better not let it go to your head."

Bulbasaur watched this too, with curious interest. He thought about everything that had just occurred, and couldn't help but be just a little bit awed by Ash's actions. The boy didn't have to save him; he could have left him to his own defences and simply saved his own Pokemon. It made him wonder if maybe he had been a little too hasty in his judgement of the human race.

But it also made him sad, and as those thoughts began to take hold, he quietly slipped away from the joyous celebrations of victory around.

"Bulbasaur, wait," Ash called as he ran to the creature's side and crouched down beside him. He smiled as he looked towards Melanie and Brock who each nodded their head in approval.

"I was wondering if you would like to come with us," he said gesturing broadly to his friends.

"Bulba," he replied.

"On one condition," Melanie explained for him. "You have to do it properly."

Ash nodded his head in determination. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

to be continued

An after thought: Oddish let out a startled cry as the group attempted to leave Melanie's plantation.

"I don't think she wants you to leave," Melanie explained to the group with a sympathetic smile.

Misty shared Melanie's sympathetic smile as she crouched down beside the tiny Oddish and stroked her leafy appendages. "Don't worry," Misty cooed kindly. "I know you're going to miss Bulbasaur, but you'll be fine without him."

"I think she meant you Myst," Ash laughed seeing this strange maternal side of Misty. "Not Bulbasaur."

Misty looked confused as she turned to Melanie for an explanation. "I think Oddish has taken quite a shine to you Misty," Melanie explained happily. "I mean, if you don't mind . . ." she began though trailed off without explanation.

Misty smiled as she took the Oddish in her arms. "Welcome to the family."

to be continued . . . specifically in the next chapter

Just kind of wanted to give Misty Oddish and therefore threw that unnecessary little closer in there at the end. I swear I had it written better in my head, I just didn't write it down for about 12 hours so now it's a bit cheesy.

Anyway, I've already started on the next chapter – in fact I've been writing this and the following chapter simultaneously. It's the Lavender Town one with the ghosts, which I'm sure will be very interesting with a little bit celestial interference thrown in there. So if you want to see that, review and I'll do my best.

Also, I apologise for making Misty a bit weepy and OOC. The simple fact of the matter is that if she cries Ash must comfort her and it makes a very cute scene and if you've read Reasons of the Heart, then you know I just can't get enough of that kind of scene.


	9. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Disclaimer: Don't own, never said I did.

Anybody else think its weird that all the gym leaders parents (or in fact almost all the parents in Pokemon) seem to be suspiciously absent – then suddenly return in the case of some? Just occurred to me that it was kind of weird.

Gonna warn you all now that Brock and Sabrina are my second favourite Pokemon ship so it looks like my version of Lavender Town is going to be heading in that direction, I just have to figure out how.

I apologise for the long wait on this. It's been a very long time since I've updated, and I'm trying to keep the updates coming while I'm still on holiday. Right now my focus is really on trying to finish Sweet Home Pallet so this one has been languishing a bit.

On Angels Wings – Are You Afraid of the Dark?

She did not like it, not one little bit.

She didn't care that her thoughts were starting to sound like a bad Doctor Seuss fairy tale; she just really didn't like this place.

She looked up at the castle, dark and foreboding. It was the typical location for a horror movie, the typical place to find a ghost. Ghost Pokemon that is, which in turn meant the typical place that Ash Ketchum, the boy that she typically had been assigned to in a mortal form, would typically want to go.

How bloody typical!

And that all meant that she had to go with him because quite typically Ash seemed to have well, a knack for getting himself in and out of the worst possible situations he could. No wonder he needed a special sort of guardian angel.

She couldn't believe how lucky she was, stuck with him until the day one of them died.

This was all their fault, the Powers That Be, her parents - both sets - Sabrina's, anybody but hers.

Why on earth did he have to have that badge? I mean there are about twenty other gyms in the Kanto league alone so why did he insist on having that badge in particular?

_'Damn you Ash Ketchum,'_ she thought angrily still looking at the scary building she would be forced to enter any minute now.

Why did that weird old man have to go and tell Ash how he could beat Sabrina? She had known all along just how to do it and she had even begged the man not to tell him, but he just wouldn't listen. Chances are Ash would have found out some other way anyway, he was just like that.

And that explained why they were all in Lavender Town staring up at the creepy looking tower with nervous glances.

If there was one thing that scared Misty more than bugs it would have to be ghosts. She had been afraid of them since she was little and her sisters used to tell her ghost stories to frighten her. When she was about seven she had insisted on staying up late to watch movies with her sisters just to prove she wasn't a baby so in return her sisters would always make sure it was the worst possible movie that would end up giving her nightmares for weeks afterwards in the hopes that it would prove their point.

And now she was practically staring in her own horror movie all thanks to a scary gym leader, her crazy, estranged father and Ashton bloody Ketchum.

Sabrina had psychic powers that matched even angels like her self, they definitely excelled her own in mortal form, but that didn't matter especially with that freaky little doll to back her up.

It seemed her options were down to very few.

Ash was just so damn stubborn, he just had to have that badge and no other. He couldn't admit defeat no matter how many times you hit him back down again.

In the beginning that had been a trait she had admired in him, she had liked the way he would just get back up again when you hit him down and wouldn't give up no matter what, but now she was really beginning to despise that quality in him.

Strangely enough though, her hand was still grasped around his in their efforts not to loose each other in the fog but not Brock's, which had been unnoticeably lost along the way. She tried to ignore the strange tingles she felt through her body that seemed to be emitting from their linked hands.

She resisted the urge to hide herself in Ash's comforting arms again like she had when the fog had first started rolling in as a frightening animal cry echoed around them at an agonising pitch. This whole place just freaked her out.

She could almost feel darkness emitting from the lightless tower, as if it had engulfed everything surrounding it in its dark tendrils of shadow that clawed at the blanket of sky tearing holes that only just lit the way. Angels were extra sensitive to theses sort of feelings just like psychics or witches, but she could never tell Ash and Brock her feelings, she knew they would probably just laugh at her and continue into the darkness.

Night always came so much sooner in Lavender Town than any where else in Kanto or any of the other leagues major, or minor. It was almost as if this was where all night started from, like this was where all the darkness began.

Lavender nights were longer than any other night you could ever experience, but tonight especially would be the longest night she would ever know.

The town, though its early nights wasn't nearly as dark as the tower itself. It was always dark around the tower or so the locals had told them distressingly. The locals wouldn't even venture there after night had come to the town.

Their eyes had been clouded with worry for the young trio who seemed set on heading towards the haunted Tower of Terror filled with it's many ghosts and ghost Pokemon that the little seaside town was famous for. Many tried to warn them, but Ash's stubborn attitude was too much for them to cope with.

"I think we should go now," she said softly subconsciously inching closer to him for protection. "I don't like this place."

She felt so cold just from simply looking at the tower. It was the sort of cold that couldn't be eased by the addition of another layer of clothing. It was a haunting chill that seemed to come straight from the Tower of Terror itself that stood tall and proud before them.

"I agree Ash," Brock confirmed. "Maybe we should wait till morning."

"It won't be any different then," Misty said so quietly that the two boys could only hear her soft mutter but not the words she spoke that were truer than they could realise. "It's always dark here, always cold, always night."

"How am I supposed to catch a ghost Pokemon during the day?" Ash asked them sceptically not waiting for their reply. "Everyone knows that ghosts only come out at night."

Misty's hand grasped his tighter almost refusing to let go as tears welled in her eyes. She tried to talk herself into this, or maybe talk Ash out of it, but neither was working.

"What about the fog?" she asked letting go of Ash's hand as she noticed Brock snicker. "Maybe it was an omen, telling you not to go here."

"That's a bunch of superstitious rubbish Misty," Ash told her trying to banish his own fear as well. He knew he had to be brave, for Misty at least because he needed her with him in there, he didn't think he had a chance without her. "C'mon Myst, it'll be alright. You'll see."

Misty looked him straight in the eye for a few seconds, just trying to discover whether or not she really could trust him on this.

Tears fell from her eyes, but her attention was caught elsewhere and she didn't notice the crystalline teardrops falling down her cheek until Ash reached out his hand and wiped them away lightly tracing his fingers against her smooth skin.

Their eyes locked into each others and it took several coughs from Brock to tear them away forcing them as far apart as possible blushing red enough that it was slightly noticeable in the towers apprehensive darkness.

Again Misty found herself looking up at the dark tower trying to predict what was about to happen to them. She wished she didn't have to go in there, but sometimes fate has a mind of its own.

"Trust me Myst," Ash added sincerely seeing she was still uneasy about entering the tower.

"Don't worry Misty," Brock told her a slight teasing tone noted in his voice, "Ash'll protect yah."

Again they both blushed.

Misty silently reminded herself to make sure Brock got his later, much later.

Ash took a deep breath as he silently, and as bravely as he could muster, led his two friends into the creepy tower trying not to notice the fact that Misty was especially close to him right about now.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Ash asked anxiously hoping that Misty couldn't tell that he was just as scared as she was.

His voice echoed through the emptiness bouncing off any surface it offered.

"It's so dark in here," Misty stammered subconsciously grabbing Ash's arm tighter. She jumped as the door slammed shut behind them. "And it just got darker," she wept.

"It'll be ok Myst," Ash comforted her, his hand lightly caressing her hair.

She nodded silently as tears filled her eyes Ash's simple words comforting her just enough to hold them back for now.

"I've got candles," Brock said after rummaging through his bag. He carefully lighted three candles and handed them one each. "Just on the off chance that you actually want to go off on your own," he added sarcastically.

Ash carefully scanned the room bringing his light into every corner so he knew where he was.

Misty decided she liked this place better in the pitch darkness, or even better outside. Cobwebs hung limply everywhere she looked. Old paintings stared down at her as if they were watching her every move with great interest.

The candles cast an eerie glow over the place, which looked as if it hadn't been stepped inside of since the Victorian era. She wanted out . . . now.

"Why must you do this to me?" she whispered quietly glancing in Ash's direction where he seemed completely unaware of her desperate plea.

Misty moved ever closer to Ash as she sidestepped a large hole in the ground and heard a loud moan coming from there.

She turned her eyes on Ash as the tears began to overflow and trickle down her face. "Please," she said simply knowing little more was needed.

"Just a little more Myst, for me," he said appealing to side of this girl that only he knew. "We'll be out of here in no time."

A haunting laughter echoed through the tower as the trio entered the main room Misty noting the best escape route as she did.

It was just then that anything not bolted the ground was lifted into the air and started spinning precariously around the room. A sudden gust of wind blew past them chilling their insides and blowing out the only light they had.

Ash pushed Misty to the ground and shielded her with his own body. Brock was not quite so lucky. He was caught on one of the chairs that swept behind him forcing him to sit down and making him part of this twisted merry-go-round.

"Brock, jump down and lay on the ground until it all stops," Ash told him as he looked up at his friend.

Brock nodded as he looked for the right moment to do as Ash had told him to.

Within seconds the spinning furniture stopped and it was as if none of it had ever happened as the flames of their candles returned.

"Please," Misty said again as more tears flooded to her eyes.

Ash nodded as he led them out of the haunted tower and back outside.

"I'm sorry," Ash said to Misty.

He felt so guilty, as if he had failed her or something. He felt like he had lied to her, he had made a promise that it would all be ok and then it wasn't and now Misty was scared and upset all because of him.

"It's alright," she replied softly, "you couldn't have known what would happen, Ash."

_'But I could,'_ she thought sadly wondering why they hadn't warned her of what was going to happen in there. Ash could have been in serious danger in there but instead of her protecting him the way it should be, he had shielded her from harm and protected her instead. _'Some guardian angle I am.'_

_'**Don't worry Misty,**'_ a voice familiar voice echoed in her head. It was soft and harmonic with an unconditional understanding that only an angel could find. _'**There's always a reason things happen the way they do. Don't try to fight it Misty.**'_

The voice was filled with such certainty that Misty knew that all she had to do was follow whatever she felt deep inside, and right now all she felt was an intense fear and a warning not to go into that tower.

"I guess we should head back to town," Misty suggested with a sigh as all of them watched the tower cautiously.

"I can't," Ash said, his eyes locked on target. "I need that badge, and I need a ghost Pokemon to get it. This is one time when failure isn't an option."

Misty looked at him, pleading with him to change his mind.

"You don't have to come, Misty," he told her, "you just have to believe in me."

"I do," she said quietly.

"You coming Brocko?" he asked turning to Brock, his voice filled with false cheer and confidence.

Brock shook his head. "You won't catch me back in there. Besides, I have to protect your assets," he said gesturing to Misty.

Ash shrugged his shoulders, not quite understanding what Brock meant but heading in all the same glad that Brock was there to protect her while he wasn't.

Misty whacked Brock upside the head as soon as Ash turned his back on them.

"Moron," she muttered. "You know if he gets hurt in there I'm blaming it all on you," she growled at him.

"Wow Misty," Brock gaped. "I never knew you cared so much."

She took this opportunity to send Brock into an unconscious state, she liked him better that way; he was easier to deal with when he couldn't speak.

Misty's eyes worriedly searched the building wishing she could see through walls, one of the few powers that didn't come with the whole celestial being gig. She didn't want Ash to get hurt not just because he was her charge and her responsibility, but even though she wouldn't admit it, Ash was probably her first true friend in this world.

_'**Damn you Sabrina,**'_ Misty called in her mind hoping the psychic gym leader would hear her curse. _'**You just wait till I'm back in heaven and I'll be sure to put a word in for you there, not necessarily a good one.**'_

She knew that Sabrina probably wouldn't care, I mean she was a mindless shell of a human being now; there was no way she or that freaky little doll she seemed to speak through would really give a damn about it. The freaky little doll was probably going to hell anyway just like Chuckey and Barbie, so for now all they were, were empty threats.

Not like she'd be back in heaven any time soon. If she did her job right then she'd be stuck down here for another seventy years at the least whether it be physically or spiritually, not that Ash made this any easier.

He was a walking target for disaster. It seemed where danger came to wreak havoc on the world, Ash Ketchum wasn't too far behind. She'd only known him a few months but that was more than enough to discover that fact, it didn't help that they constantly had team rocket on their heals. Heck, she probably wouldn't be surprised if they were in the tower already.

A sort of low moan sounded from inside the tower either emphasizing her thoughts, or trying to bring her out of them, she wasn't sure.

She wished that Ash was out here. She felt so much safer when he was around. Its strange how often things seemed to be the other way round, how Ash was always saving her and protecting her and guarding her from harm when she was the guardian angel, and something about that scared her beyond comprehension.

* * *

"Wa!!!" Ash gaped as he looked down at his own body lying underneath a broken chandelier. "Pikachu, if we're up here, then whose down there?'

"Pika pi ka?" the yellow rat replied looking tentivly between his two masters, the one lying lifelessly on the floor and the one floating aimlessly through the air.

"Pikachu, what's that?"

~ to be continued ~

Pretty spooky right? I've split the Lavender Town business into three parts, and I've probably left it there in the worst possible place. Especially with me having writers block and having really written nothing but the chapter title for the next one.

Although it is an incredibly good title if that makes any difference and as soon as I post this I'm getting onto it.

Please review, even if it's just to scream obscurities at me for what a crap updater I am . . . and how I over use ellipses.


	10. The Kiss of Life

DISCLAIMER: The only Pokemon materials I own are a small stuffed Pikachu and a book of Pokemon so old it only contains the first 150 (or whatever number the Mews are). It used to come in handy from time to time but now it has been replaced by Bulbapedia which is a very useful site. I was looking everywhere to try and work out what on earth you would even call Brock and Sabrina and they had it right there - I didn't even realize that there was justification for it and thought it was just something that some people like me thought were cute. If not for Bulbapedia I was going to call them 'DiverseShipping' (because they are the only gym leaders to have non-type Pokemon on their team - thus the diverse thing, it was the only thing I thought they had in common) but apparently they're MangaShipping cos of something in the Manga. Anyway, this disclaimer here has actually gotten quite long, and most of it is actually me going on about nothing - as per bloody usual.

Before I finish though, on the topic of Brock and Sabrina, I'm thinking about starting a C2 for them, however the problem seems to be that there are almost no fics to add to it. I've gone through about 1,500 so far (I didn't read all of them but I think you catch my drift) and I've only found one. Although that may be my own fault for having such a strict criteria that even of my own fics don't qualify (well except maybe 'More Than You Think You Are'). Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that if anybody knows any good MangaShipping fics please let me know, or if you would like to find some good ones let me know and I'll send you my criteria so you know what you're looking for.

Now on with the story.

On Angels Wings – The Kiss of Life

"If anything happens to him in there, I'm blaming you," Misty glowered at Brock as he came to reminding him of her previous threat. "I can't believe you just left him in there alone."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Brock replied hopefully, hardly sounding convinced by his own conviction. "Ash has a way with these sorts of things."

Misty sighed to herself.

Boy did she suck at her job. Here Ash was, walking right into his most dangerous situation yet, and where was she? Outside and doing everything in her power to stay that way.

'**_Help_**_,_' she thought ominously, beseeching anyone who would listen – anyone that could listen – for that little bit of aid.

And then she felt it, like a cold wind trickling down her spine and clinging to her bones. It seemed to brush through her in the worst possible way - like an inescapable, inexplicable emptiness.

"Oh god," she whispered hoarsely. "Oh god, oh god , oh god," she cried out more urgently as tears coursed down her pale cheeks.

"What is it Misty?" Brock asked, looking at her with concern. Misty had gone almost completely white, and she seemed to be rooted to the spot as she stared almost aimlessly at the tower. "What's wrong?"

Misty didn't reply; she couldn't reply. She couldn't say it aloud and confirm it, but she knew it was true all the same.

This wasn't the first time of course. After all, every angel's mission has to come to an end, and this was the way things usually ended. But it was different with Ash. He wasn't just some assignment. He was her friend, and now everything inside of her was telling her he was gone.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," she repeated to herself, her eyes searching the tower wildly. "It's all my fault. I never should have let him . . ."

"Misty, just calm down," Brock told her seriously grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"We've got to go," she told him almost breathlessly as she tried to hold back her tears. "We have to go. We've got to get out of here."

"But Misty, what about Ash?" he asked, looking more and more concerned.

"That's what I mean," she tried to explain. "Something's happened, something bad. You have to go get help."

"We can't just leave him."

"You have to go," she told him, struggling out of Brock's grasp. "I have to get in there Brock. I have to save him."

"Are you sure?" Brock asked, loosening his grip on her. Misty nodded mutely in reply – it was all she could do. "You'll need this," Brock said, handing her some supplies out of his bag. "I won't be long."

And then Misty was alone again with the tower of terror.

* * *

Ash and Pikachu floated aimlessly around with the ghost Pokemon with almost no idea what to do. It was fun playing with the ghosts at first, especially messing with the Rockets, but he was starting to miss his body, and his friends.

The Haunter and Gastly seemed to sense this and pulled him outside to where he thought Brock and Misty were waiting.

Misty stood alone, looking worriedly at the tower. Only she looked completely different. It was almost as if she was glowing.

He floated down in front of her, and she looked as though she could actually see him. When he was messing with Jesse and James, it was like they were looking through him, but Misty was looking right at him.

"Oh Ash," she whispered softly. She reached out her hand and gently stroked his cheek. Her touch was softer than he could ever have imagined.

"Misty . . . your . . ." he started, but she just smiled an enigmatic smile and the words faded on his lips.

"An angel," she finished for him, relieved to be able to say it aloud and admit the truth to him. She felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. "I know. I'm yours actually."

"M-my angel," he stuttered, not quite understanding what she was saying.

"Guardian angel," she replied with that same enigmatic smile. "I am your guardian angel Ash, and this is not your destiny."

"How do you know?"

"Because if this was your destiny Ash, then I wouldn't be here," she said simply. She looked at the ghost Pokemon around him and banished them with a look. They had done their damage, and now she would do hers.

"You are meant for great things Ash Ketchum," she told him with an almost sarcastic smile. "And I intend to see you through all of them."

"Do you promise?" he asked softly, reaching out for her hand. He missed her touch. If this was the end, then that was the way he wanted to go – holding on to Misty.

She nodded slowly.

"You have to go back Ash," she told him, her voice calming but sounding further away. "I know it's cold and dark and alone. I know that it hurts there and you're scared of what might come, but you have to go back to your body until I can bring you back properly. It won't work if you're here and in there."

"I'll see you soon?" he asked and she nodded again as he floated back to his body to wait for her.

Misty shuddered as she took a deep breath she had been holding. She choked back her tears and held her hands over her mouth as she fell to the ground.

She had been holding it in through the whole conversation with Ash as he confirmed her greatest fears. He was dead. He was really dead, and she had no idea what to do.

For Ash's sake she pretended she knew what she was doing. She smiled enigmatically. She spoke calmly and with absolute certainty. She didn't let a single tear go.

Now sobs raked through her body and she cried openly. She cried because she was losing her best friend and there was nothing she could do except cry about it.

She raced into the building, forgetting all her previous fears. She followed the trail that his spirit left behind, leading her directly to the body of her best friend and his Pokemon companion.

She found them under a pile of rubble, which she quickly moved. Ash and Pikachu both lay at odd angles. His skin was cold to the touch and she desperately searched for a pulse. If she tried hard enough she could feel something very faint, but she wasn't sure if it was real or just her own wishful thinking.

She let out a loud sob as she stared at his figure. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. Ash was supposed to go on forever – to do great things and live a long life. This wasn't his destiny.

"Help me!" she cried out aloud, staring at the heavens above. "You have to help me," she added passionately, choking on her own emotions. "I can't do this on my own. You have to save him.

"You can't make me go on without him," she whispered.

Misty waited for their response, but nothing was happening. She wondered if they could hear her; if they were even listening to her cries. She wondered if this was what everything had been leading to all along.

She held her hands out over his chest hoping that the pulse she was sure she felt hadn't just been in her head. Her hands glowed as she began chest compressions, resorting to a mixture of celestial magic and western medicine.

"One – two – three," she muttered to herself as she counted out the compressions. She pinched his nose, and covered Ash's mouth with her own, forcing air from her lungs into his. She checked for a pulse once again, trying desperately to convince her self that the faint beat she felt was real.

She started compressions again.

"Don't leave me Ash," she whispered as more tears gathered in her eyes and fell. She could heal whatever damage was done to him, but she couldn't bring him back from the dead if that's what had happened. Nothing she could say or do could bring him back from there.

_If only tears could bring you back._

She sealed her lips over his once again. She watched his chest rise and fall as the air was forced into his lungs. She checked his pulse once again.

"It's stronger," Misty whispered to her self, trying to convince her self that she could in fact feel Ash's pulse strengthening. "It has to be getting stronger."

She continued with CPR, convincing her self each time that he was getting stronger and coming back to her. He had to come back to her.

"**_Kasumi stop,"_ **the PTB commanded, a warning tone in their voice.

"No, I will not stop," she replied, her hands pressed against his chest and her cheek resting on his lips trying to feel his breath. "I can't stop. It's not too late."

**_"Kasumi, it's almost dawn,"_**they said, their meaning lost on her.

"No . . ." she said quietly, a tear rolling down her cheek and onto Ash's. "Not him. You can't take him," she told him more determinedly, standing up as though to face them off. "Take me instead. Take anything. Just don't take him."

The PTB seemed to consider her proposition.

**_"Kasumi, if we do this, you have to give up something in exchange,"_** the PTB said finally.

"Anything," Misty replied. "Whatever you want. I'll give up anything just as long as you can save him," she wept.

**_"You must relinquish your powers,"_**the PTB explained slowly. **_"Not all of them, but most of your powers will have to be relinquished in order to save him. _**

**_"Are you sure you want to do this?"_** they asked, waiting upon her reply.

She nodded. "If this is what it takes."

Ash and Pikachu began to glow brightly, and Misty had to shield her eyes, as a warm light seemed to wrap itself around the room. She felt herself being drained and he knees buckled under her, forcing her back to the floor beside Ash.

Slowly the light faded, and she watched him carefully as he took a deep breath on his own fruition.

**_"You can no longer heal yourself Kasumi,"_** they said lowly. **_"And you'll no longer be able to hear his thoughts, no matter what form you take. Almost all your powers are limited to your immortal form. You're almost human."_**

_'Almost,'_ she thought to herself unsure as to whether that thought was a comfort or a curse.

"Thank you" she began, but stopped when she heard a low groan come from beside her. She moved quickly to Ash's side, taking his hand in hers as he slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes.

"Ash," she whispered softly, sighing with relief. "You're ok."

He nodded as he slowly tried to get his bearings. "I had the strangest dream," he croaked, trying to sit up but Misty wouldn't let him and forced him back down. Pikachu crawled over to his side and rested its head on his stomach. He winced a little but smiled down at his Pokemon.

"You were there," he said to Misty. "And I guess I was too. And . . . I don't remember what happened, but it was strange."

Misty smiled at him as she softly stroked his cheek. "I don't think it matters," she whispered softly, her eyes welling with tears that she wouldn't let fall. "I'm just glad you're ok."

"Misty I . . ." he started, but was cut off as a loud bang was heard from the front room.

"Misty! Misty are you here?" they heard Brock call from the front room. It seemed that dawn had finally arrived, as had Brock with reinforcements.

"We're in here!" Misty called back, standing up and walking towards the door so that Brock could see her. "He just woke up," she explained to Brock and the paramedic as they walked through the door.

"I-I think he's ok now," she added quietly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Brock said comfortingly.

"He wasn't breathing when I found him," she said in a low voice, her eyes filling with tears once again as she recalled the circumstances of Ash's death and resuscitation. "And I couldn't find a pulse."

"It's all right now Misty," Brock told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"I should have been there," she said, her voice heavy with guilt.

"Then where would we be?" Brock asked. "The two of you sprawled under some furnishings. Who would save him then?"

Misty just shook her head, watching Ash as the paramedic checked him carefully.

_'Who will save him now?'_ she thought to herself as she recounted what she had to give up in order to save him this time. Next time there would be nothing left for them to take. All she could really do was watch his steps and make sure they didn't lead towards anything too perturbed.

But who would save him now?

~ to be continued ~

I love self-sacrafice. I hadn't really meant to take this in this direction, but I do like where it ended up. Adds a whole new dimension to things don't you think? Although it's probably going to make everything more difficult in future chapters and I'm going to need constant reminding that I did this.

Now remember: Je suis désolé que votre mère soit une singe montée par puce mais ce n'est pas mon problème. A meaningless sentence I know, but I felt like throwing it in there for comedic relief after such a dramatic relief. I really should have thrown a joke in the middle somewhere - it's what Shakespeare would have done.

And so in the words of the immortal bard . . . REVIEW!


	11. Wrestling With My Angel

Title inspired by the Janet Frame autobiography of the same name - this is a book I would highly recommend to anybody interested in literature and/or mental health.

Now I don't want any of you forgetting the thing I did last chapter when I stripped her of most of her powers. In fact I'm going to allude to it continuously just to remind myself, which should keep us both on track.

DISCLAIMER: I'm sure many of you are sitting there wondering, who is this Virgo person, and what on earth could she possibly own . . . well I'm just going to let you ponder that until the next chapter. What a cliff hanger, right?

On Angels Wings – Wrestling With My Angel

She was his angel and she felt useless as they all stood before Sabrina waiting for the Haunter to appear.

"I choose Haunter!" Ash called again, looking anxious when the ghost still refused to show itself.

The doll just laughed. "Does this mean you forfeit?" the doll asked, its eyes beginning to glow.

"No, never," Ash replied, knowing what was on the line this time if he didn't succeed. Sabrina wanted some new dolls to play with. "Pikachu! I choose you!" he called instead.

Pikachu nodded at his partner, willing to do whatever it took. They would fight, even if it would only end in defeat.

Misty shook her head. There was no way that Ash was going to defeat Sabrina like this. The only way to defeat a psychic Pokemon as strong as Sabrina's Abra was a ghost Pokemon.

Or to defeat Sabrina herself. And with her powers almost stripped away, there was only one way that Misty could do that.

She sighed. She couldn't just stand there doing nothing and there was only one thing she could do.

Misty fell suddenly to the ground into a dead faint. The move distracted all the match players as Sabrina went to call her first Pokemon.

"What did you do to her?" Ash asked angrily as he glared at the small figure holding a Pokeball in porcelain hands.

"Nothing," the doll replied innocently. It's mouth widened into a cruel smile as it looked at Ash from behind its bangs. "You don't know do you?" it asked cruelly. "You have no idea."

It then turned to look at Misty who had walked unseen onto the battlefield.

"I don't know what your trying to do here, Tenshi," it muttered, glaring at the angelic figure. "But you won't succeed. Natsume is mine," it said greedily.

"Natsume," Misty heard Brock mutter, but thought nothing of it. Right now she had to get inside Sabrina's head and destroy that little doll.

Misty concentrated as she forced her way into Sabrina's mind. The Pokémon battle began to wage while everybody was unaware of the psychic battle taking place between the angel and the mortal.

With great effort Misty forced her way through Sabrina's barriers. Inside Sabrina's mind she could hear Brock's voice reverberating – that name kept repeating itself over and over again.

A hollow giggle echoed as Misty walked through the darkness. She had no idea what she was looking for. All she knew was that if she found it that would be enough to free Sabrina of that stupid doll.

A red door appeared in front of her, the only thing that she could see in the darkness of Sabrina's mind. Misty tried it but it wouldn't open. She knocked lightly, trying anything she could think of and whispered the name she kept hearing all around her.

"Natsume," she called quietly, "may I come in?"

The door slowly opened and a beautiful little girl pulled her inside and shut the door behind her.

"It's safe here," the little girl told her as she handed Misty a stuffed Abra to hold onto.

"Safe from what?" Misty asked her, looking deeply into the little girls crystal blue eyes. She bent low and tucked a stray strand of dark ebony hair behind the girl's ear and smiled a soft smile.

"From the cold," the little girl replied. "It's safe here. It can't hurt us in here."

"It's alright Natsume," Misty said softly, taking the little girls hand in her own. "Do you know what I am Natsume?"

The little girl nodded. "You're an angel," Natsume said quality. "Are you here to save me?"

"In a way," Misty replied kindly. "I have to save my friends," Misty told her, "but I think you're the only one who can help me. But I'm going to need you to be brave. I need you to tell me what you're hiding here from."

"I'm hiding form what's out there," Natsume whispered quietly. "From the world. It was the only way. I had to become strong and the only way to become strong was to hide the weakest parts of me away. But it got too strong.

"It ok," Natsume continued. "It's safe here."

"Mommy and daddy were so angry," she said, her eyes becoming blank. "They didn't love each other and so I had to do all the loving for all of us. But they were so angry and I only wanted to make them happy.

"And when they saw what I could do, they _were _happy. So I did everything I could to make it stay that way. But I just kept making them unhappy," she said unhappily, referring to this part of herself who was shut away where it was safe. "So I went and hid so that they could all be happy."

Misty smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around the small child. What little of the life she had known before she became an angel was not all that different from Natsume's. They were the same, only Misty had been given a second chance and Natsume was alone.

Her blue eyes stared sadly into Misty's and Misty slowly began to realize what it was she needed to do. Natsume was a part of Sabrina that she had kept hidden in order to allow her power to grow, and with Natsume out of the way the doll took over. Sabrina became cold and Natsume sunk deeper and deeper into the recesses of Sabrina's mind. And if Misty could just awaken that part of Sabrina somehow, then everything would work out.

"What made you happy Natsume?" Misty asked softly, her smile warm and open.

The little girl blinked, almost returning the angels smile. "Takashi made me happy," the girl said quietly. "But he got scared of all the things I could do, and he left. Everybody left, but Takashi was the only one who mattered.

"He doesn't even recognize me anymore," she added sadly.

"He . . ." Misty started, but stopped as the pieces fell into place in her mind. She was surprised she hadn't worked it out sooner – he was in her head after all. "Takashi," she muttered quietly.

Of course Brock was Takashi. That was exactly the kind of coincidence you expected when Ash was around. In fact she was sure Brock had even mentioned it if she thought hard enough.

"He told me your name," Misty said softly encouraging the small girl. "Tell me a story about Takashi."

Natsume smiled, her eyes brightening from Misty's encouraging words. She thought for a moment as she decided on a story. "I'll tell you how we met," she said brightly. "How Takashi stole my dolly so he could marry it. And then when I told him he couldn't have it he said he'd marry me instead."

Natsume laughed, the sound ringing through the dark area's of her mind. The whole thing seemed to light up at the sound. And suddenly instead of sitting face to face with a little girl, she was staring into the face of fifteen year old with bright blue eyes and a musical laugh.

Misty rolled her eyes jokingly. "He hasn't changed at all," she laughed which caused Sabrina/Natsume to laugh once more.

"He was dead set on marrying something that day," Sabrina laughed, her eyes seeming to almost twinkle.

"It's ok for you to go back now," Sabrina said suddenly, becoming serious. "I'm ok now, and I think Ash is starting to worry about you."

"Are you sure?" Misty asked, looking at Sabrina with concern.

Sabrina nodded. "He was the only one who loved me for me and not for my powers," she said, waving her hands about sarcastically. "And they were the very thing that drove him away. So I separated the parts and grew stronger and colder until there was nothing really left. But I understand that now, and I'll be ok."

Misty nodded as she left Sabrina's mind and returned to her own body. She woke up slowly trying her best to look like someone who had just fainted rather than someone who had been astral projecting.

Ash's nervous chocolate brown eyes stared into her own. "Are you ok?" he said softly to which she nodded in return. He sighed in relief. "You missed everything Misty," he said pointing to the battlefield where Abra lay laughing to himself. "Pikachu was almost out and then suddenly Haunter appeared and started making faces at Sabrina. And then both her and Abra started laughing and Abra was completely out of commission, so we won."

Misty smiled to herself as she stood up. _'You don't even know the half of it,'_ she thought. "I can't believe I missed the entire battle," she muttered aloud, looking sour. "That's the last time I'm skipping breakfast."

"So Brock," she said, turning to him with a knowing smile. "That old man was probably Sabrina's dad right? And he knew your name, without us even saying it. Before I thought it was because he was psychic, but the way he said it was like he knew you. So if he knew who you were, then maybe you know Sabrina."

"She . . . I," he started his cheeks turning red. "The doll called her Natsume. Before my mum died I had a friend called Natsume who we used to visit in Saffron."

"Do you think it's her?" Ash asked, looking at Sabrina and not quite being able to imagine her as the innocent and scared little girl that Misty had met in her head.

"I don't know," Brock said slowly.

"You could always ask," Misty suggested. She looked over to Sabrina and rolled her eyes, indicating to the psychic that she would have to be the one to make the move.

Sabrina laughed as she made her way over to the trio carrying the Marsh badge. "Here Ash," she said as she handed it to him. "A rather unexpected turn of events, but a well fought battle all the same."

Ash smiled, proudly cradling his latest badge in his hands. "Thanks," he replied modestly, "although I think it's really Haunter who did all the work."

Sabrina looked at him oddly for a moment then turned to Misty who just rolled her eyes once more. The two shared the smile of two people who knew what had really happened when no one else was even close to aware – something akin to dramatic irony. She smiled as she gave Misty a quick hug, something which surprised the two boys.

She then turned to Brock and smiled shyly at him. "You remind me of someone I used to know," she said softly, tilting her head to the side as she carefully studied his face.

"You too," Brock said softly, returning her shy smile with one of his own.

"Takashi?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.

He nodded slowly. "Natsume," he smiled back as he carefully embraced her in a hug. "I almost didn't recognise you," he sighed happily.

She shrugged as she pulled back to study his face once again. "It's been a while," she smiled. "You look almost exactly the same."

Brock smiled thoughtfully, his arms still wrapped around her. "I missed you Sabrina," he told her softly. "And I'm sorry I got mad at you. It wasn't your fault and I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner."

"I'm sorry too," she replied softly. "I shouldn't have done what I did. You were right Brock."

* * *

"So," Misty drawled as they left the gym, waving at Sabrina as a sinister smile formed on her lips, "I guess you and Sabrina are close."

"I guess so," Brock replied obliviously, his eyes yet to leave Sabrina's as he waved goodbye. He didn't see the smile that rested on the angel's otherwise perfect features.

"So is she like the love of your life or something?" Misty asked with that same sanctimonious smile poised on her lips as the four of them finally turned their backs on the psychic.

Brock scowled slightly, mentally scolding himself for not seeing this coming sooner. "Just because a person has a close friend that happens to be of the opposite sex does not mean that they are in love with them," he replied plainly, not giving Misty the satisfaction of seeing him blush and stutter even though the urge was there.

"Evading the question much?" Misty joked, noticing the faintest of blushes on the older boys cheeks. "You can't tell me that you were friends with her for four years and don't 'like her' like her."

Brock's blush deepened, and Misty smiled at her victory. Teasing Brock over his various crushes was one of her favourite activities, although she did feel a little cruel in these particular circumstances as she suspected his feelings might have gone a little deeper than a mere crush.

"How about I ask you the same question when you and Ash have been friends for four years?" Brock asked, his own smile morphing to match Misty's as her jaw dropped to the ground. He was pleased to the see the smug look fall off her face. "Although four months might be more appropriate in your case," he added smugly as Misty's eyes widened.

"What about me and Misty?" Ash asked, alerted to the conversation by the sound of his name. He had been too busy admiring his latest badge to really pay attention to Brock and Misty up to that point.

Brock's smile widened as he saw the fear flash into Misty eyes. He could see her silently begging him to keep his mouth shut in spite of her mentally insisting that there was nothing to tell. He glanced at Misty with a victorious smile as he replied.

"Nothing. I was just saying how _close _you two are . . ."

~ to be continued ~

I really had wanted to use that last part in Brock: A Short History but it just hadn't worked with that story (it's no fun teasing someone when they actually _are_ in love with the aforementioned person and have confessed said love in a very touching scene), so I'm very pleased that I was able to work it into this one. Although, the scene wasn't really as shippy as I would have liked, but I'm not sure I could have worked in a romance without having to go against everything we know about Brock – I want this story to be kind of consistent with cannon to the greater extent. By the time I finish all my stories currently on fanfiction I will have written three versions of this episode (the Brock-centric version, the angel-centric version, and the CCS version - although you have to admit it was a pretty good episode).

Quick translation here because I'm sure some of you aren't really sure: Tenshi=Angel in Japanese. Not really sure why I brought the Japanese names in here – I think it was because I didn't want it to be immediately obvious to Brock that Sabrina was the girl from his past. I am totally loving the idea of Sabrina and Misty being allies, although it's something more in my head than anywhere else.

I'm going to try and work on some more chapters for this story, but it might be awhile before you see another chapter because I need to do some planning before I update again about what I would like to include in the story and what I want to leave out e.g. I'd love to include the second Movie in this (it's one of my favourite Ash and Misty moments) but I'm not sure I want to include the Orange Islands in this story.

Please review and let me know what you think of things so far. I have written the start of the next chapter, but I haven't decided where to take it to yet.


	12. Burning Bright

**On Angels Wings**

* * *

Crap, it's been forever since I updated this. I don't actually have anything written after this chapter, but I'm hoping to inspire 'flow' by inducing stress. I don't know what I'm thinking.

This chapter is for **warlordess** who was completely subtle in their hints that this should be updated. As you can probably tell, the chapter was written in two different stages in my writing, but I'm hoping it doesn't come off too disjointed. I'll know if you are able to guess the exact point where one half ends and the other begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did own Pokemon, episodes would obviously be shown far less regularly, with intermittent breaks for my writers block.

* * *

On Angels Wings - Burning Bright

"Pikachu," she whispered quietly as she touched her hand to the small yellow rodent. It stirred slowly, somewhat startled by the intrusion. "It's ok Pikachu," she whispered again, being sure not to wake her other companions. "It's me."

Pikachu looked at Misty for a few moments and tilted its head, unsure of what was happening. She gestured for him to follow her away from their sleeping friends.

"Pikachu, I need your help," she told him once they were far enough away. "I need you to help me test my powers. Just so I can know my limitations."

Pikachu tilted his head at her once again.

"Just try to say something to me," she commanded, looking anxious. Pikachu nodded and the two sat in silence for a few minutes. "Nothing," she sighed. "What did you say?"

"Pikachupi, pika pi pik pika pi," Pikachu explained, its small eyes narrowing in concern. ((I said 'you look different'))

"They had to take away some of my powers to save you guys," Misty explained, scratching her head in embarrassment in a way similar to Ash. "I just wanted to check what I could still do.

"I'm assuming I can still heal other's in any form, or at least Ash," she continued seriously. "They have to at least grant me that. I think we've just established that the telepathic link thing is gone – although I should probably be fine with psychic Pokémon given that I can still talk to Sabrina."

She sighed again as she looked at Pikachu. "I can't read Ash's mind," she said ticking her powers off her list.

"Not that I used it all that often anyway," she added with a blush as Pikachu raised his eyebrow in her general direction. The electric mouse seemed unconvinced. "I can't heal myself. And watch this."

She delicately gestured in the air and a small twig jumped a few inches in the air and back down. "That's the best I can do," Misty explained with a sigh. "Before I could have lifted a whole tree into the air, but that's all I can manage. And it took a ridiculous amount of concentration just to manage that."

"Pi. Pi chu pika pka chu?" the small yellow people asked, watching her very carefully. ((Do you regret your decision))

"No," Misty sighed, her eyes turning back in the direction where she knew Ash lay safe and sound asleep. "I offered my own life for his, but all they took were my powers. I should be happy I guess," she said with a sarcastic smile. "I just miss how much easier things were."

"Pika ka pi pikachu?" Pikachu asked with a concerned look. ((What will you do now?))

"This doesn't change anything," she shrugged, realizing that Pikachu was trying to ask her some deeper question that she wasn't ready to confront yet. "It just means we're going to have to be more careful and watch out for him a bit more," she said, forcing some confidence into her voice.

"I just hope . . ." she started, but trailed off with a soft sigh as her eyes turned towards Ash's position once again.

"He'll be fine," she said determinedly with a nod that put both their minds at ease. "He's resourceful and has a knack for getting himself out of the worst sorts of situations, even without my help. Sometimes I wonder if he even needs me."

"Chu pik chu pika," Pikachu assured her, jumping from his spot on the log and into her arms. ((Of course he does.))

Misty sighed once more as she gently caressed the Pokémon's yellow fur, putting him to sleep.

"Just not as much as I need him . . ."

* * *

A storm was brewing. But Misty already knew that. She had been warned this time, and told to direct her companions to the Pokémon Centre early in order to avoid the oncoming tempest.

She was surprised by the warning. Her 'gift' of prophecy had never been one of the powers she had put heavy reliance on. Ever since she became Ash's guardian angel, premonitions had been sparse and rarely useful, and thus she had learnt not to depend on them for warnings of eminent danger. The PTB seemed happy enough to let her walk right into any old situation and fend for herself. For someone who was supposed to be 'The Choosen One', the PTB didn't really seem all that concerned for Ash's personal safety.

Being led out of a storm was certainly unexpected, especially when less than a month ago they had let him get himself killed under a chandelier. Sometimes she felt like she was the only one looking out for Ash's best interests. Well, her and Ash's mother who would always be there to remind her son to change his 'you-know-whats'.

Misty sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about the charmander they had come across in the forest. It was so sad, and in the past she could have asked the creature what was wrong and comfort it as only she could. But now, stripped of her powers, she could do nothing more than hope that his trainer returned soon before the storm began.

If she had her powers she wouldn't be stuck here worrying and wondering if charmander was safe. She would only have to turn her thoughts to the fire lizard to know and have her mind put at ease by the knowledge. Not knowing was torture.

She hoped Charmander would be ok. She hoped he had an angel of his own; watching him, guiding him, protecting him. The Pokémon reminded her a lot of Ash in his determination, stubbornness and loyalty. She suspected that was at least part of the reason why this was affecting her so much.

Maybe she could find Emilie . . .

A loud boisterous laugh sounded through the Pokémon Centre, drawing Misty from her sombre thoughts. She turned her attention towards the laugh, catching Ash and Brock doing the same. Their eyes fell on a group of slightly older trainers resting languidly on the couches.

"The silly lizard's probably still sitting there waiting for me to come back," a tall, dark haired boy said proudly, his friends laughing along with him as he spoke. "Like I would let a loser like that charmander on my team."

A loud THWACK! echoed through the Pokémon Centre before the boy could even finishing chortling at his own sick humour. As the last word left his mouth Misty had stormed across the room in an instant and slammed her open palm across his face.

The room was silenced and the boy's eyes widened with surprise as he touched his reddened cheek.

Misty's eyes narrowed as she glowered at the older boy, covering her embarrassment for taking such a rash action. "How could you be so despicable? You're right – your Pokémon is still there waiting for you because he loves you and believes that his trainer is a good person who would never leave him and desert him just because he wasn't as strong as some other Pokémon!" she yelled crossly, looking more and more intimidating as the seconds passed.

"You disgust me," she told him with a sense of finality as she turned on her heal and strode towards the doors. She would not waste anymore of her time on that worthless piece of filth, not when there was someone who needed her help.

"Misty, wait, you can't go out in that," Brock told her, prying himself from Nurse Joy whom he had been flirting with half-heartedly. He didn't need to read her thoughts to know exactly what she was thinking of doing.

"Of course I can," Misty replied, pulling a rain slicker on over her sweatshirt and shorts. "That jerk just abandoned his charmander out there and the poor thing is probably still waiting for him like the loyal creature he is. I know its bad, but I have a better chance in this weather than a fire-type left to fend for itself."

"Ash, maybe you can talk some sense into her," Brock said, turning to their unofficially appointed leader for the deciding vote. "The weather report says that it's the worst storm they've seen in years."

"I don't care what anyone says about it," Misty replied angrily, glaring at anyone who dared to defy her, "I'm going with or without your blessing."

She glared at Ash, daring him to try and say something to change her mind. She hated how Brock would defer to Ash to do so. She hated it almost as much as she hated the fact that Ash was quite adept at changing her mind when he wanted to be. She had a soft spot for Ash's warm brown eyes that Brock constantly tried to use against her.

"Brock's right," Ash said with a sigh, looking directly into her eyes as they filled with sadness. "But so is Misty," he added determinedly, breaking their locked gaze to turn to Brock. "We can't just leave a defenceless Pokémon out there on it's own."

He caught Misty's eye again and the proud smile gracing her lips. The familiar warm feeling spread from his chest as he returned her smile with one of his own; he felt incapable of containing his own joy or how happy even the smallest smile from her made him.

"Alright," Brock said stoically as it became plain that there was no sense arguing with either of his young companions. "But we can't just go out there 'gung ho', Misty," he said commandingly, his tone almost paternal. "We need a plan, and supplies, and a place to start."

"Ok," Misty said, conceding to Brock on that point. She hadn't really thought much further ahead than storming out of the Pokémon Centre.

"We can't be more than about an hour from where we saw Charmander," Brock continued, taking out the map from his backpack. He pointed to the Pokémon Centre to indicate their location and then indicate the maximum area they'd have to cover.

"We must have been heading east, because the sun was behind us," Misty interjected, narrowing their search area.

"I suddenly wish we'd kept to the actual path like normal people," Ash complained with a groaning, seeing how much of the area was still left to be covered.

"Ash, that's an awful thing to say," Misty admonished. "If we'd have stuck to the path there would be no one to look for Charmander right now."

"Right," Ash nodded, "but don't forget that you said that the next time I get . . . I mean, _someone_ gets us lost."

"So can we go now?" Misty asked, looking hopefully towards Brock. The older boy nodded reluctantly.

"I hate to say this," he replied, "but we'll get through more ground faster if we split up. I'll call out Zubat, will you two be ok together?" he asked, parental concern flashing across his features. Ash and Misty nodded in unison.

"In that case," Brock said, "take the map and I want you guys to go directly east. It's six now so when it gets to half eight, I want you to start making your way back to the Pokémon centre no matter whether we've found Charmander or not, you got it?" They both nodded once again. He sighed reluctantly before sending them on their way, knowing full well that they would not return without Charmander and just hoping that they found the Pokémon before the storm got worse.

_'**Emilie**,'_ Misty called in her head, _'**I know you're listening. I know someone out there is listening, so don't pretend you're not. It's just me and Ash now – no Brock, no voice of reason – and you should know both of us fairly well by now. **_

_'**You should know that the two of us are stubborn as anything. We're not turning back until we find Charmander. And so I'm giving you the opportunity to actually be of use instead of sitting on your self-righteous butts watching the rest of us nearly kill ourselves for your higher causes.**_

_'**So help**,'_ she demanded. _'**If you want to keep 'the chosen one' safe, tell us where to go. We're not leaving until Charmander is safe, so either help us, or hope that we get lucky.**'_

She paused for a moment, waiting for their response. This came in the form of a pretty French angel that suddenly appeared in front of her.

_'**Come on**,' _Emilie called as she headed slightly off course, gesturing for Misty to follow. _'**They're pissé as hell at your ultimatum, Kas, but you leave them no choice at all. Venez avec moi. He's this way and he is not looking well – malade.**'_

Misty nodded subtly to Emilie to show she understood. "Ash, I think it's this way," Misty said, gesturing in the same way Emilie had indicated.

"Are you sure?" he asked, noting it was more southern than they had intended to venture.

"I just got a gut feeling," Misty replied with a shrug, hoping that might convince him.

Ash nodded, flicking away the compass and setting it back in his pocket. "Arlight, Myst," he agreed. "You're usually right about these things."

Grabbing hold of Ash's hand to make sure he followed (or at least that was what she told Emilie when questioned), she raced after the other angel until they came to a small clearing with an orange lizard perched on a rock, it's life giving flame a dull glow. Misty gave a small sigh of relief at the sight of the fire Pokémon.

"We got here just in time," she said gratefully, "but we've got to act fast."

"Thank god," Ash agreed. "We've got to get him to shelter, Myst. Look at his tail. It's nearly been blown out."

Misty nodded, glancing at her watch. More than half an hour had passed since they left the Pokémon centre and it would probably take them an hour to get Charmander back. In this weather, she knew that Charmander wouldn't last the journey, so there was only thing she could do.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked in surprise as he watched her remove the plastic rain slicker.

"He's not going to make it if we don't keep his tail dry," she explained logically. She continued before he could protest, "I'm doing exactly what you would have done, Ketchum, only I did it first so just shut up and help me."

"Aye aye, Myst," he agreed playfully.

The two began their journey back, Ash carrying the bulk of the lizards weight while Misty paid careful care and attention to the tiny flame, encasing as much of the Pokémon as she could in the plastic shelter. Had Ash not been paying such close attention to her and the Pokémon, she would have taken the opportunity to test her powers, but with Ash being almost uncharacteristically attentive, she had to leave it for now and simply do what she could.

It took even longer than she expected to return to the Pokémon centre. They had to move slowly so they could walk together, and the path they had taken to reach Charmander almost seemed to have closed up behind them. They had to return by a longer route – the route they had used earlier that day, so it was thankfully familiar – and so it was after eight by the time they returned.

"Nurse Joy!" they called in unison as they made it through the Pokémon centre's doors. "Nurse Joy, come quick!"

"Oh my," Nurse Joy gaped as the rain slicker slipped down to reveal the ill Pokémon. "We've got to get him in the incubator. Chansey," she called to her own Pokémon. "Chansey fetch me some supplies."

"Nurse Joy, will he be alright?" Misty asked worriedly, her eyes filled with concern.

The nurse nodded solemnly. "You must have got there just in time," she told them. "If Charmander had been out there any longer the outcome might have been very different."

Misty sighed with relief as the nurse darted out of sight, taking Charmander with her. She sat down, smiling gently at her best friend. "Thank you, Ash," she told him lightly.

"What did I do?" he replied, frowning in confusion. "You were the one who did all the work, Myst. You were the one who wanted to go after Charmander in the first place. You were the one who found him. You were the one who kept his tail dry.

"I was just along for the ride, Myst," he finished with a beautiful crooked smile. "You were the hero this time. I was just the side kick."

She had to laugh at the title. "Well then thank you for being such a good side kick," she forced on him. "I couldn't have done it without you, Ash."

He just smiled in response, dropping down on the seat next to her. After mustering incredible measures of both self-control and courage, he reached for her hand, gently squeezing it in his own as a sign of encouragement. When she turned to meet his eyes, he gave her another heart-warming smile.

"What else are friends for?" he asked her rhetorically. "Any time you wanna run out into a thunderstorm, Myst, I'm there," he assured her. "Always."

"Same here," Misty replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Any cliffs you want to jump off of . . . any oceans you want to drown in . . . any heated battles you want to step in the middle of . . ." she trailed off, the words almost failing her as she thought of all the crazy situations she could potentially lose her friend to.

Her heart was racing and she almost felt dizzy as she spoke three words that Ash would carry with him for the rest of his life.

"I'm your girl."

~ to be continued ~

So sweet. That's like a borderline confession. And a totally sweet one at that. Although, obviously, going into creepy haunted buildings crosses some sort of line in Misty's devotion, but the sentiment is good all the same.

Thanks for reading. Review.


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